In A Time Where Kunoichi Didn't Exist
by Airotia
Summary: What the characters and plot of Naruto would be like if girls weren't allowed to become shinobi. Rating may change. Many eventual pairings. Hinacentric
1. Chapter 1

In A Time Where Kunoichi Didn't Exist

NOTE: Due to certain changes that would definitely be evident, certain characters' personalities shall be changed. The main ones with the personality changes (thus far, mind you) will be Hinata, Neji, Hanabi, Hizashi and Sasuke. Sunagakure does not have the 'no kunoichi' laws; therefore, Temari will still be a kunoichi. Also, there is a slight change in the story of Hinata's father and her uncle, which I'll reveal later. Oh, and everyone in the original cast of Naruto that was a kunoichi (that I consider important, mind you) shall still be a kunoichi (Hinata, Hanabi ((later on)), Sakura, Ino, Tenten, Tsunade, Shizune, Kurenai) Other than that, that's about all I need to inform you… for now. Enjoy the story, and please give me feedback on how things would work out, if you have any to offer, of course.

----

_LEGEND OF THE KUNOICHI_

_Long ago, there was a man named Masanori Takayuki. He had a beautiful wife, named Haruki. Together, they combined a large band of people, shinobi, kunoichi, and regular nomads alike, and created Konohagakure. The man called himself the Hokage, but his wife was his major supporting role, and helped him through the tough times. Life was good for a good while, and they managed to have two children—a boy and a girl. _

_One day, the married couple, and Masanori's brother, Masaru, was sent on a S-class mission to fight missing-nin from the also newly founded Sunagakure. The desperately needed information on the Land of Wind, and the best way to get it was to capture them._

_From the start, Masanori had been against Haruki coming along. He accepted it when she finally demanded it, but told his brother in private to help keep an eye out for her. The close-knit family traveled for days through the forest and in the westbound direction of Sunagakure and the Land of Wind. Finally, on their third day of travel, they finally met the two fugitive ninja. One was an excellent master of sand, the other amazing at using a rather large and extravagant fan to manipulate wind. _

_The battle was fierce. Masanori and Haruki fought the sand master, while Masaru took on the fan-user single-handedly. Mid-fight, Masaru finally succeeded in knocking out his opponent. The other, thinking that his partner killed, began to fight with an even greater fury than he had before. Even with Masaru helping to fight the sand-nin, he managed to kill Haruki. As she was dying, she told her husband that she loved him and to not show weakness._

_Forgetting the plan of capture, Masanori became lost in his grief over the death of his wife. He grew into what Masaru later described as "monstrous—almost inhuman". Within minutes, the battle was finished, and the sand-nin had been mutilated in so many ways that it seemed almost impossible._

_Once they returned to their village, Masanori made a law stating that women were now forbidden to be kunoichi. In those days, this made little difference—only one person was truly affected, and that was his still unborn granddaughter, Tsunade. Later, Masanori gave his life for the village. The next Hokage became Masaru, who followed his elder brother's wishes regarding kunoichi._

_And that is the legend of the kunoichi, and the beginning of the history of Konohagakure._

----

A young Hinata sighed as she sat down her storybook and stared out the window. With her brother Neji gone to school, her little sister off doing shopping with a Branch member (she had messed up yet another kimono while playing), and her father figure on a mission, Hinata was all alone in the large and intimidating Hyuuga compound. Somehow, with no one around to talk to, it seemed even larger…

She sighed and climbed to the window, staring outside. Outside, Branch family members were going through basic stances—though they couldn't use the Byakugan. She stared in awe for a few minutes, before remembering her place and climbing back down from the window. She glanced from her storybook to the Branch family members, and scoffed. She climbed back up and watched for a few minutes, before their practice stopped.

She sat on her bed, thinking about what she had just witnessed. Their fighting stance… seemed somehow familiar. Like it belonged to her. She stood up and, after quickly glancing outside her room, she broke the law for the first tie in her seven-year-old life.

She went through battle stances. She replayed them in her head, and allowed her body to follow them. It felt like some strange dance—like she was now a geisha, beautiful and strong, dancing in front of hundreds of people, but somehow… fiercer.

A soft knock sounded at her door. Hinata immediately sped to her bed and grabbed her storybook before calling, "Come in!" happily.

At her door stood her brother, Neji. "Neji-nii!" she cried out in joy before throwing her tiny arms around her older brothers waist. He staggered backwards a bit in shock before smiling.

"Okaerinasai," he said.

"Irasshaimase," Hinata replied, muffled against the chest of her older brother.

Neji sighed and asked, "So, what did you do all day?" Hinata paused, thinking that Neji had somehow caught her, but she shrugged.

"Eh, reading, sitting around… it was a boring day. I wish that I could go to school with you…" she said, adding the last part as an after-thought after she released Neji and took a step back to allow him 'personal space'.

"No, you don't. Being a shinobi is dangerous… I could die. In fact, being a shinobi is probably why I'll die when I do. But… you're not the fighting type, Hinata-chan," Neji said reluctantly. It was a difficult subject to pursue, and he knew the laws against kunoichi were completely wrong, but… There was nothing he could do.

"I know…" she whispered. "Well, at least Hanabi and Chichi-ue will be here tomorrow… and then you don't have school the day after, right?" Hinata asked, staring up at him with happiness.

"Hai… but… I have special training with Chichi-ue…" Neji admitted slowly with a sigh.

"Oh… so I'll be alone with Hanabi again… Well, that's okay. I love my little sister, anyways," Hinata replied with a smile. She didn't want her brother to feel bad for something he had no choice in doing—besides, if Neji had to do training, and if Hanabi was otherwise preoccupied, then she could watched Neji and her father train—which would be a whole lot more exciting than watching Branch family members train. Maybe, just maybe, if she paid enough attention, she'd be able to utilize the Byakugan…

No. Being able to do the stances and such was too much as it is—even illegal.

"Hinata-chan, is something wrong?" Neji asked concernedly, looking down at her as if she was sick or hurt.

"Iie, Neji-nii. I'm fine…" she replied back slowly.

"Are you—" Neji began, but was cut off by the sound of the door to the Hyuuga compound sliding shut.

"Okaerinasai!" came the deep voice of Neji and Hinata's father, couple with the much softer (and cuter) voice of Hanabi.

"Hanabi! Chichi-ue!" Hinata cried out, running from Neji to greet her little sister and her father. "Irasshaimase!" she called out before picking up her little sister, giving her a quick hug, and then turning to hug her father.

"Ahh, Hinata-chan! Neji-kun! How have you been?" Hizashi greeted happily, smiling at both of his oldest children.

"How was the mission, Chichi-ue?" Hinata asked with a bright smile.

"Ahh, girls shouldn't worry about missions. We completed it successfully, and no one was hurt—that's all you need to know," Hizashi said with a soft smile. He walked past her and patted her on the head as he did so. "Neji-kun, let us do our practice—I want to see how much you've grown in the past two days," Hizashi commanded in a light tone, a soft smile on his features.

Sometimes it surprised Hinata how nice her father was. Most people in the Hyuuga family were much too… formal and strict. He obeyed the rules and laws of the Hyuuga clan, but… he managed to do it with a sort of kindness. Hinata often asked herself why, but she finally decided that she (and the rest of the family) was lucky that she had such a benevolent father.

"Hanabi-chan, do you want to color with me?" Hinata asked with a soft smile.

"Hai!" her younger sister cried out before latching onto her older sister. Hinata smiled sweetly down at her before leading Hanabi to her room, where she had (and kept only because of Hanabi) a stash of various coloring and drawing utensils, coloring books, regular paper, blank scrolls, and other such things that one single person could use and stay content for hours.

----

Hinata woke up slowly, blinking her eyes a few times before sitting up and stretching. Yesterday, her teacher had taken a day off, so she was excused from lessons. She sighed, knowing that today was her lessons in mannerisms and grace. She would be taught how to dance, or how to walk, or even, at times, just sit there for hours, pretending to eat an imaginary meal. She never faltered in them—except if her father, Neji, or Hanabi came to visit—but they were excruciating.

Plus, she'd much rather watch the Branch members train again.

She glanced through her closet, going through her kimonos. Whenever she went to one of those classes, she would be reprimanded if she did not wear a kimono—her normal play clothes would not do for formal lessons. So, she finally decided on a light purple with a violet flower print and walked out of her room.

Neji had already left for school, and her father was probably meditating. Hanabi was definitely still asleep—lessons didn't start until you were a little older, usually around five. Hinata walked silently down the halls of the Hyuuga, glancing from left to right at the paper screen doors in silent curiosity. Only Hanabi's, and the other young ones', rooms were dark. If you squinted, you could sort of see what was going on inside of them. Of course, Hinata only looked at certain rooms—many were dressing, and it was inappropriate to look at such things. In some rooms, you could see faint outlines of people meditating—in others, you could see vague forms of people doing silent practice, with both chakra and with simple forms.

She finally arrived at a large room near the center of the large house. She silently slid open the screen door and immediately bowed to her teacher once she entered. The old lady, known as Naoki-baa-san in informal occasions, was kneeling in the center of the room. Incense was behind her, and her eyes were only half-open. She gave a bow back, though it was much lower and somehow held more dignity.

"Ohayou gozai masu," Hinata said, doing her best to say the syllables correctly and to enunciate.

"Ohayou gozai masu," Naoki said back formally. "I presume you did not eat breakfast yet, Hinata-sama?"

"Iie…" Hinata replied softly in embarrassment.

"I see… Well, please, sit down. I have something we can eat. This shall be another eating lesson," Naoki said as she elegantly motioned to the seat across from her own. Once Hinata sat, Naoki halfway turned and pulled a box from behind her. She then placed it in between the two of them and silently opened the box. Inside were various pieces of sashimi—ika, tako, and ebi were obviously present. Also, a larger compartment held white rice.

"Itadakimasu…" Hinata said before beginning to serve herself using the larger end of her chopsticks to place the various foods on her plate. She then took the rice bowl Naoki had provided her and put a much greater amount of rice in the bowl than she had taken of sashimi.

"Do not hold back, ojo-sama," Naoki commanded politely.

"Hai, sensei," Hinata replied back before adding more sashimi to her plate. They ate in a formal silence.

After they finished eating, Hinata carefully set her bowl and plate back. She also replaced all of the lids, once she confirmed to herself that Naoki was finished as well. She set her chopsticks in the small holder that was in the inside of the large bento box, and said, "Gochisosama deshita," as she folded her hands in her lap and waited for Naoki to give her her evaluation.

"The only thing you are still reluctant about is helping yourself to the food. It offends the chef if you are reluctant to fill your plate. Other than that, however, you have mastered the art of being served and self-serving. We shall move onto cooking next week. You are dismissed," Naoki said, motioning for her to leave with a slight shooing motion.

"Arigatou, Naoki-sensei," Hinata said with a bow before walking slowly out the door. Once she closed the door, however, she began running (as fast as she could in the kimono, anyways) to her room to get dressed in normal clothes and maybe catch someone, anyone practicing.

----

Things continued to go on like that for months and months. Hinata would do her lessons and then hurry to her room, hoping to catch someone practicing, which she later learned was called Juken. She would practice it herself in her room whenever she could, especially after realizing she knew every part of the exercises. She was nearly caught once when someone who was practicing utilized the Byakugan, but when he went to her room, she began dancing wildly, as if she had been all along. The Branch member smiled and apologized for interrupting before leaving. After that, Hinata made it a point to only watch those practicing, and practice on her own later on when she was alone.

After a while, Hinata grew tired of the simple stances that the Branch members took on. She was growing immensely bored out of her wits, as her only energy outlet seemed pointless. She was wandering around the Hyuuga compound one day, when she happened to hear her brother and her father conversing.

"…jutsus?" Hinata heard, and froze at that moment. What were these 'jutsus'? And why were Neji and her father talking about them?

"Hai, Kawarimi and Henge," Neji replied.

"I see… Good job, Neji-kun. However, I expect that to only be used in dire situations," the father warned.

"Hai, chichi-ue. I know—the Byakugan and the Juken have a much higher skill level," Neji answered back automatically.

'So… Juken must be the style I've been copying, but what is this Byakugan? A jutsu? The Kawarimi and the Henge must be jutsus… He's probably learning them at his school. Perhaps, if I can somehow sneak there on my next day off… After all, I'm not bothered, and if they can't find me, I can always say I was out admiring the gardens and hiding…' thought Hinata excitedly.

While she was thinking, her father and brother exchanged a few more words before the father dismissed Neji. Hinata caught herself just before Neji opened the door, and ran out of the nearest door, which happened to be the yard where training took place.

The two training stared at her suspiciously before she bowed and said, "Gomen-nasai! I got lost in my thoughts on the way to the garden. Please excuse me!"

"It's fine, ojo-sama—just be more careful next time, neh?" the obviously older one called out. Hinata gave them a nod and a quick bow before dashing back into the Hyuuga compound and decided, since she told them she was on her way to the gardens anyway, to go ahead to the garden to have some time to think.

She walked slowly through the gardens, silently contemplating what she could do about sneaking to school with Neji. She could always pretend to be sick and just sneak to the school with Neji—but then again, Neji would most definitely notice her long before they reached the school. Along with that, she'd probably have older and/or unmarried Hyuuga women crowding around her.

Perhaps… she could just ask to go out into the town, and then 'lose' herself in the crowd. It would be relatively easy, especially if she went with on market day, when the market was full of bustling people. If she was found, she could always just explain that someone had pushed her aside, and the current of people continued carrying her, unintentionally, away.

And, with a firm resolve and determination, she decided that's exactly what she was going to do.

A/N: Teehee, rather proud of the first chapter. I hope you enjoyed the story so far!

Oh, and yeah. Naruto will be added in a little later. The next chapter will have the other girls added in (even Temari shall be mentioned), and I'll even include Sakura and Ino's Sasuke obsession. :D

P.S. If you have any questions about some of my terminology, feel free to ask.


	2. Chapter 2

**In A Time Where Kunoichi Didn't Exist**

Asking permission to go into town was not an easy feat. Hinata had to ask her father, five of her mentors, and even a few other miscellaneous Branch members for permission to have acceptable protection. Why she needed to ask permission from members of the family that hardly knew her, she decided, probably was about having official records taken. Anytime Hanabi was taken shopping, the person taking her and Hanabi had to sign out, have a quick check-up before leaving and after arriving back, and had to give a brief report on any things that they saw—even Hanabi, who could hardly speak.

After all the proper preparations had been made, and checked over time and time again by Hizashi, Hinata was finally allowed to go into the town with Naoko. This was, incidentally, quite lucky for Hinata—after all, she was being put in the care of someone who's old. Not only is it easier to slip away from an old woman than a younger woman or man, but it easier to get away with explaining. And, since they were going out on the busiest day for the market in the week in disguise (well, Hinata at least), it would be easy to explain without making it Naoko's fault.

So, with a burning determination, Hinata set off with Naoko to the market, just an hour after Neji left for school.

Slipping away from Naoko was not a hard task—not at all. It was very simple, actually—and even simpler to explain, since Naoko had just been recently diagnosed with arthritis.

As they walked through the crowded market, Hinata waited for Naoko's grip to finally loosen, and then Hinata managed to carefully, yet quickly, escape her grip and follow a current of villagers to the end of the market place. From there, she could see the school, and made it there quite easily.

She looked into the windows cautiously from a distance before sitting against the window, hiding in a bush to keep from being seen.

"We'll be going over the basics of chakra usage today…" the teacher began, pausing to write something on the board. Hinata decided that she couldn't risk looking, and she would just have to hope that she could understand with just what the teacher was saying.

When the teacher began explaining complex structures of chakra, something Hinata had only heard of a few times, she sighed and sunk down closer to the ground. "I really, _really_ wish I could see…" she muttered to herself, closing her eyes and focusing on what the teacher was saying about chakra. Her eyes wrenched even tighter when he began talking about the chakra coiling system, and she once again, began to wish that she could see the board. She felt a strange tingling sensation fill her head, and without fully realizing what she was doing, she forced the strange sensation forward to her eyes, still wishing she could see.

When she opened her eyes, she was shocked to find that the world looked—different. She was able to see all around her, and farther than usual. Also, when she looked at what she was sure was a person, instead of a normal figure appearing, a black figure with blue dots all over it came up. She was shocked to see this, but concentrated on the board inside the classroom, which she could see from underneath the bush and behind the wall.

On the board was a picture of a person, with the words "Chakra Circulatory System" above it. She glanced back at a random merchant, and realized that the thing their teacher was jotting down was almost exactly what she was looking at—except that his was slightly off.

"By turning stamina into chakra, you can distribute it to any area of the body you wish. It's most strongly concentrated in this area," and here he circled the stomach, "The hardest place to distribute it is the feet, but by doing so, you can walk up vertical objects, such as trees or walls, or even on water. Jutsus are attacks based on—Yes, Naruto?" Iruka asked.

"Can I open a window, Iruka-sensei?" the boy moaned.

"Sure, go ahead," he said with a sigh before continuing on with the lecture. Hinata sank closer to the ground, just as a blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy opened the window right beside her bush.

"Hey! There's someone here!" Naruto called out, and Hinata mentally cursed herself for not being able to hide well enough.

"Who is it?" Iruka asked with a frown, walking up to the window. "Oh! Neji-kun, is this a relative of yours?" Iruka asked, turning to face Neji. Hinata held her breath, hoping to god that Neji wouldn't expose her. _'Please, Kami…'_ she thought to herself.

Neji walked up to the window, and was slightly taken aback to find Hinata. "Yes… This is my cousin, Hiro Hyuuga," Neji introduced, being sure to use a boy's name.

"Oh, so it's Hiro-kun? Why is he not enrolled in the Academy? He obviously has an interest…" Iruka offered, looking down at Hinata.

"He's physically weak, sensei. He sometimes looks at my notes and watches other Hyuuga practice, but he has never followed me to school. I apologize for him," Neji explained, quickly thinking up a good excuse.

"I see… Well, do you suppose that your family would mind if he attended this lesson? After all, it's just a basic lesson, and he already has gotten away from your family…" Hinata looked up at Neji hopefully, and Neji frowned down at her, but then sighed.

"I'm sure it'll be fine, sensei," Neji said, glancing down at Hinata briefly.

"Okay, then—would you mind retrieving your cousin and escorting him to the classroom?"

"Sure. I need to speak with him, anyways," Neji said, glancing down at Hinata once more before walking out of the room. After he closed the door, he hurriedly walked out of the classroom so that he could apprehend "Hiro" quickly.

"What do you think you were doing?" he hissed as soon as she was in earshot.

"I'm… I…" she stuttered.

Neji sighed and said, "If you're going to pass for a boy, you'll need to work on that voice. Either pretend you can't talk or feign a boy's voice. If you're caught, I'm going to be caught with you," Neji commanded.

"How's this?" she asked, giving him her best impression of him—which wasn't good at all.

"Pretend you're a mute," Neji commanded with a smirk before opening the door.

"Ah! Hiro-kun and Neji-kun! Gomen, but the only available seat is next to Naruto, the blonde boy in the front row. Do you mind?" Iruka asked.

Hinata shook her head and sat down next to the boy that had revealed her. Iruka continued the lesson by talking about how to gather chakra and how to disperse it into jutsu by using seals.

Naruto slipped him a piece of paper, which read 'So you can't be a real ninja?' Hinata bit her lip and looked down at it before turning to him and sadly shaking her head. Naruto furiously waved his hands back and forth, trying to tell him he didn't mean to hurt his feelings. Hinata smiled at him, letting him know that she knew he didn't mean anything by it. Naruto took the piece of paper and quickly jotted, 'You can have some of my scrolls if you want. I either can't understand them, they bore me, or I've already mastered the jutsu on them'.

Hinata read it over and over, shocked that a complete stranger was offering this to her. She quickly nodded and smiled as Naruto pulled out his bag, glanced around, and handed her seven scrolls. "You may want to put them in your jacket," he whispered, to which she nodded.

She took the scrolls and carefully put them in the inside pockets of her jacket, glancing up at Neji, who wasn't paying attention to her, but was staring at the board.

She sighed in relief when she noticed that no one else was paying her any attention, and Naruto gave her a brief thumbs-up. 'Does this mean we're friends?' he scribbled onto the paper.

Hinata smiled and wrote down, 'Yeah', before turning to the board. Naruto, once again, smiled and tried his best to do what his new friend was doing—paying attention.

----

The end of the day came swiftly, and Hinata was already disappointed that it didn't last as long as she thought it would. After saying goodbye to Naruto and Iruka, she followed Neji back home.

"How did you get here, anyways?" Neji asked, and then Hinata suddenly remembered that she had left Naoko in the marketplace.

"Naoko!" she exclaimed worriedly.

Neji sighed and rubbed his temples. "We'll worry about that later," he said. "Anyways, _why_ did you come?"

"Because… because… I…" Hinata stuttered, not sure of how to tell her brother how she came to find out about jutsus, chakra, and the ninja way, since it somehow felt like she was betraying him.

"How much do you know?" he said, rephrasing the question.

"I know about chakra… I've heard of the Henge and Kawarimi… and I… can see… the dots Iruka-sensei was talking about earlier," she explained, hoping Neji could explain why she could see the chakra circulatory system.

Neji stood there, gaping and staring at her. "Hinata… that… that… you can use the Byakugan?" he asked, dumb folded.

"Byakugan?" she asked, surprised.

"Yes… it's the bloodline trait of the Hyuuga. I can use it, as can Chichi-ue… But for you to be able to use it without it being explained to you is amazing…" he suddenly went from being in shock to being serious. "However, you cannot let anyone—and I mean _anyone_—else know that you went to school with today, or let anyone from school know that you were a girl. Understand?"

Hinata nodded, looking away and biting her lip.

"Now, also, don't let anyone find the scrolls you got from the Uzumaki boy," Neji said, smirking at the reaction his little sister had.

"H-how did you know?" she asked.

"Byakugan," he said in a singsong tone.

"How far away and how many degrees around can you see?"

"… I'm growing, but right now, its 345 degrees and up to twenty feet past my normal line of sight," Neji said after a moment of thought.

"Wow…" Hinata whispered in awe.

"But, anyways, that's not the point! People _die_ as shinobi! You know the story "Legend of the Kunoichi"? Well, that's what it's really like! As a shinobi, you are going to lose your precious people, unless you're strong enough to stop that from happening! And, if you choose the path of the shinobi, you've already chosen your death—death in battle, possibly for something that doesn't even matter to you! Is that what you want?" Neji demanded, trying his best to discourage her from continuing to try to chase after an 'impossible fate'.

"So… because I'm a girl, that means that I don't have the right to die for something I believe in or want to do?" Hinata whispered, staring at the ground.

"… By law, yes," Neji muttered.

Hinata sighed, and stared at him for a moment. "Then that makes me want it more," she said bravely, only to be cut off by the voice of her nanny—Naoko.

"Hinata-sama! Gomen-nasai! I… I didn't mean to lose you! Daijobo? Please, Kami-sama…" she whispered, on the verge of tears.

Playing her part, Hinata ran up to Naoko and threw her arms around her waist. "Hai, Naoko-baa-chan. Nii-san found me… I'm so glad I found you again! I got lost in the crowd… and… and…"

"Oh, it's okay…" Naoko said, biting her lip back as she cradled Hinata's cheeks in her hands. "Come on, let us return home. Are you coming with us, Neji-sama, or are you going to train?"

"… I'll train," Neji decided, and turned away from the pair.

'_When did Hinata change…? It's as if just by learning some of the way of the shinobi, her character has become so much stronger…'_ Neji thought to himself, perturbed at the changes Hinata had gone through in such a short period of time, and without his noticing.

----

"So, what's going on?" Neji asked from behind Hinata while she leaned with her ear on the door, where Naoko was currently being questioned.

"… Naoko-baa-chan might… might be getting fired," Hinata explained.

"Because of the stunt you pulled today?" asked Neji.

"Hai…" Hinata replied, looking down at the floor in shame.

"And you're letting her get fired?" Neji hissed.

"Well, what am I supposed to do? Go in there and say, 'Hey, I've been listening in, and it's my fault for the entire thing, because I slipped away on purpose to sneak to the Academy, where…'" However, Hinata suddenly fell silent.

For Neji had lunged forward to cover her mouth.

"Don't even _whisper_ about that! First lesson: A ninja must always, _always_ stand up for their precious people. Don't say anything that will get you _executed_, but do stick up for her! Now!" Neji commanded.

Hinata stared at him for a moment, contemplating what he had said. After a few seconds of thought, she nodded, feeling empowered.

She turned the doorknob and opened the door, startling both a nearly crying Naoko and her father, who was reprimanding and building up for firing Naoko.

"Gomen…" Hinata began with a bow, "But… I'll have no other nanny than Naoko-baa-chan. It was my fault—I purposely let go of her hand so that I could go around town by myself. Do not punish Naoko for something I did," Hinata said, changing from uncertain to determined mid-sentence.

Her father stared at her, his mouth hanging slightly open. Naoko, too, was shocked. After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, Hizashi sighed and said, "Very well. You will not be allowed to go anywhere outside of the Hyuuga premises for the next week, and even then, you are to be watched by Naoko at all times when you are alone. Wakarimasu ka?"

"Hai, Chichi-ue. Naoko-baa-chan, could you accompany me to the bathhouse?" Hinata asked with a smile.

"… Of course, Hinata-sama," Naoko said with a small bow.

As they walked off together, leaving a smirking Neji and a still dumb folded Hizashi, Naoko leaned over to Hinata's ear and whispered, "Whatever possessed you, child?"

"… I had to protect a precious person," Hinata explained.

And then, though Naoko wasn't completely sure, she had a pretty good idea of where Hinata had been while she was "lost" in town.

"I see," she replied back, deciding to herself to also protect Hinata by not reporting that statement Hinata had made.

----

"Neji, if you know where Hinata was, I suggest you tell," Hizashi commanded.

"I do not know where she was, Chichi-ue. I saw her as I exited the Academy, crying underneath a tree because she was lost, and I decided to escort her home, where we met Naoko on the way. I feel that she was lost the entire time or under that tree," Neji said, his own words playing back through his mind.

"Very well. Dismissed," Hizashi said. Neji left, and Hizashi leaned forward, massaging his temples.

"She is your daughter, Hiashi. Far too much like you…" he muttered before grabbing a budgeting paper and scanning through it listlessly.

----

"Tsunade-sama, we have found yet another possible recruit," Kurenai said, standing straight up in front of the leader of the organization "Kunoichi", Tsunade.

"Name, age, and abilities?" Tsunade asked, suddenly interested in what she had to say.

"Hyuuga Hinata, 8, and she can use the Byakugan," Kurenai rattled off.

"… I'll make this a personal mission for you. Infiltrate the Hyuuga compound and introduce her to us," Tsunade commanded.

"Hai. Should we fake a death, or should we have her sneak away from her family?"

"… The Hyuuga family will be very hard to sneak to and from. We'll have no choice but to fake her death. Keep an eye out for other possible recruits around her age—we need a full new generation of kunoichi," Tsunade said.

"Very well. Shall I go now, or wait?"

"As soon as possible, when you have a chance," Tsunade decided.

"I understand," Kurenai said before disappearing in a flurry of leaves.

"A Hyuuga, eh? Her bloodline limit shall come in handy…" Tsunade muttered to herself.

**A/N: Slightly shorter, and took a while still to upload. Well, I hope you're enjoying the story thus far. I've just introduced two of the major female characters—the ones that pretty much run the organization. Sadly enough, this is Naruto's only appearance for a while—but he'll come back later, I swear:D … Well, duh, it'd be kind of hard to have a Hina/Naru fic without Naruto in it, wouldn't it? XDDD Anyways, please, review, and continue reading. I'm hoping that this story shall end up being my masterpiece, so I really want feedback on it, even if it is just "Sucks" or "Good".**


	3. Chapter 3

**In A Time Where Kunoichi Didn't Exist**

"Kunoichi" was a secret organization made entirely of female shinobi of the Hidden Village in the Leaf that rebelled against the law forbidding women to become kunoichi. The granddaughter of the first Hokage, Tsunade, originally started the organization. She had a difficult past, all leading her to the point she was now—or so she thought. She had always admired her grandfather and her great-uncle (the second Hokage) for their amazing skills.

When her brother, Nawaki, first began his life as a shinobi, she was always listening to him (illegally) describe his days at the Academy and at missions in depth. For his twelfth birthday, he received a priceless heirloom from their late grandfather, a necklace that was said to empower the person that possessed it with amazing power. The next day, during a mission, her brother died—and left the necklace to her.

She never wore the necklace after her brother's death, but later gave it to Dan, the one who knew her pain. He was also against the laws forbidding kunoichi, and he told her of medic-nins, ninja who specialized in using their chakra for good. He helped her learn the art of the medic-nins through connections, and was amazed to find that she had a natural knack for it. After helping her achieve this milestone, she took out the necklace Nawaki had left to her, and given it to him.

And, the next day, he died on a mission—when Tsunade couldn't even play a part in helping him.

She ended up posing as a normal doctor in the Leaf's hospital. She was said to be a 'miracle worker' because her patients rarely died on her—they only died on her if they were extremely hopeless cases.

But, unbeknownst to everyone else, when the few medic-nins available weren't authorized to operate on a patient (or weren't skilled enough, at times), Tsunade performed whatever was needed to save the patient's life in the dark of the night, when no one was around to see her.

But someone did.

_Jiraiya, an elite ninja, was peeping in a girl's hospital room—the same room where, incidentally, Tsunade was performing an illegal operation on a patient._

_And then he saw her use medical chakra._

"_You can use medical chakra, neh?" he asked from the window, making Tsunade jump as she finally realized his presence._

"_You… you're not going to tell about this to anyone, right?" Tsunade asked, attempting to hide the worry from her voice._

"_That depends. What would you be willing to do in return?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and giving her a suggestive look._

_She glared at him, royally pissed off. "Well, I might not attempt to open you up, take out your organs, and put them back in—in places they don't belong. Like, for instance, putting your appendix where your heart should be—that should be fun to do. Or, rather, I could make it drawn out and switch your stomach and liver—that'd take much longer for you to die, and, as for bowl obstruction and build-up—let's just say it'll be a messy and painful death," she threatened darkly, taking sadistic pleasure in seeing that he had paled a few shades._

"_I wouldn't. You're using chakra for good—and I commend women that can stand up for themselves. Goodbye," he said, trying to feign bravery._

"_Wait. You—are you an enemy or an ally?" she asked darkly._

"_I'm a rarely-seen—nowadays, at least—ally," he explained before using the Body Flicker jutsu and disappearing. Tsunade sighed and continued her work on the patient._

She never thought she'd see him again, but believed him when he said that he was an ally and wouldn't give away her secret. She never even thought that he'd be the one to give her the idea of making a secret organization of promising women, disguised as a prominent woman's club.

They named the organization "Kunoichi", but decided to name the woman's club "Konoha's Buds"—a name Tsunade personally loathed.

After a few years, "Konoha's Buds" became, to the public, a very exclusive club—one that you couldn't _ask_ to join—they had to find you. Since the "older generation of Buds was slowly deteriorating" (she and many other women used jutsu to make themselves appear to be older), they were currently looking for new recruits.

A few of the important members were Shizune and Kurenai. Tsunade met Kurenai one day when she—much to Tsunade's amusement—confused a man just by speaking intricately enough to get him to walk away. And so, after realizing how detailed the woman was and how far-fetched her imagination was, Kurenai joined the "Buds" as a 'work-in-progress' and, a few years later after much training, "Kunoichi" as a genjutsu specialist.

Shizune was different, however. Shizune began working on the same staff as Tsunade while she was a doctor. Tsunade noticed traces of what could be chakra marks on some of Shizune's patients (which weren't supposed to show, but it was obvious she had some of the basic skills), and, after a little spying, found that she was indeed using chakra. Tsunade accepted her as an apprentice, and she was still currently in her apprenticeship.

Every week on Friday, the "Buds" has a sleepover at Tsunade's house, where the "Kunoichi" members trained and were taught. There were also various special meetings throughout the week held there—Mondays were for those who wanted to work on strength, Tuesdays were reserved for genjutsu-users, Wednesdays were for up and coming medic-nins, Thursdays were for jutsu learning/chakra control, and Sundays were for weapon management. Tsunade helped with all lessons—when she wasn't working—except genjutsu lessons (and occasionally she would skip jutsu learning).

The older members, such as Kurenai and Shizune, even lived with Tsunade and had jobs. Kurenai worked all days except Fridays and Tuesdays at an inn, while Shizune worked the same shifts as Tsunade at the Konoha hospital. And, of course, the members that weren't living with Tsunade instead trained.

All in all, it was a very successful secret organization. They even had some male allies (which were definitely needed, because females couldn't buy nin-supplies or borrow/buy nin-scrolls) from Konoha to help them obtain items such as kunai and shuriken. Even more surprising, they had a few allies in the Sand—two males and a female—that helped them with various other tasks whenever they could.

As for finding new recruits, after seeing a potential "Buds" member, they sent a member of "Kunoichi"—usually Kurenai, unless it was for medic-nin training—to research them and observe them.

So, for months (after she was through with being grounded), Kurenai watched as Hinata Hyuuga studied the scrolls a young Uzumaki Naruto had given her—though he thought she was a boy by the name of Hiro, due to the fact she wore baggy, seemingly male play clothing and said she was female. She watched in amazement at how she was able to activate the Byakugan and mold chakra from just information from the scrolls and other random text.

She also watched in sadness as Hinata glanced at the _Legend of the Kunoichi_ picture book she owned in mid-training or studying, but she was always amazed at how determined Hinata got after pushing the sadness away.

So, for reasons of her intelligence, her determination, her Byakugan, and the fact that she was never caught by anyone in her family, Kurenai nominated her for acceptance into "Kunoichi". After Tsunade looked over her profile, she agreed to send Kurenai for a home visit to convince her father to allow her to be a part of the "Buds".

----

Kurenai, appearing as a slightly older brunette woman with startling emerald eyes, rang the doorbell to the Hyuuga compound. When a servant answered it, she gave a small bow and said, her voice much calmer and more even than usual, "I request to see Hyuuga Hizashi-sama concerning the matter of his daughter, Hyuuga Hinata's, placement in the women's organization, "Konoha's Buds".

After standing there, shocked for a few seconds, the servant burst out in a proud smile and nodded, ushering Kurenai in. "I'll go ask if he's available. Miss, why don't you have a seat?"

"Thank you," Kurenai replied as she took the middle seat out of three. The servant hurried away excitedly, lifting her overly large skirt to be able to hurry faster. Kurenai could hear the fast whispers of the servant and the much calmer reply of Hizashi.

After a few moments of explaining and discussing the matter, the servant finally rushed back and told Kurenai, "Hyuuga-sama will see you now," politely, before leading the way to the study where Hizashi was.

"Good evening, Miss…?"

"Akane Tsukiama," Kurenai said with a small bow.

"Ahh, Tsukiama-san. Please, come in," he offered, stepping back and holding out his arm in a chivalrous manner. She nodded and walked past him, standing in the center of the room, waiting for him to offer her a seat.

He closed the door and walked behind his desk and sat in his wooden chair, before saying, "Please, have a seat," gesturing his hand to the chair in front of the desk.

She nodded and sat down in the chair, folding her long, black skirt underneath her legs. She sat straight, her hands folded in her lap.

"You have amazing manners," he observed.

"Thank you. I used to be a rather rough character myself—'Konoha's Buds' straightened me out into what you see today," she said, keeping her tone humble and straying away from any tone of smugness.

"I see. What is your interest in Hinata about?" Hizashi asked, leaning forward.

"Well, speaking politically, she is the daughter of a prominent clan in Konoha, and having her in our women's club would most definitely help it's appeal to peak. Speaking personally… I've seen your daughter before, and something about her stuck out. She's very determined, strong-willed, and very intelligent. She's also a very sweet young lady. I believe that we can help her to help… distinguish those traits to make her an over-ally better woman."

"You're lying—you've never met Hinata. Her determination does not make her stick out at all," Hizashi replied, staring darkly at Kurenai.

"Perhaps it is you who does not know your own daughter. I saw her that day in the village—it was hours before she stopped walking," Kurenai said, leaning forward.

"How about a test, then?" Hizashi suggested with a risen eyebrow.

"A test of determination?" Kurenai asked, raising her eyebrow as well.

"Yes. How about we hide a favorite item of hers? In fact, you can choose what item to hide," Hizashi said, thoroughly amused at Kurenai's made-up ideals of his daughter.

"Very well. How about… a favorite… storybook! Ah, yes, she seems like the type to have one of those…" Kurenai said, trailing off at the end to lead Hizashi to be unsuspicious.

"She does—'Legend of the Kunoichi'. She used to have Neji, Naoko, or me read it to her everyday when she was younger, and even now, she still keeps the book on her desk and reads it often," Hizashi said, the smirk still present on his face. "Okay—I'll take it from her desk when she's not looking, and then we'll come in together and ask if you can see it. If she looks for longer than ten minutes—you've won and my daughter will have a place in "Konoha's Buds". If not, you leave without saying a word. Deal?"

"Deal," she agreed, shaking his hand. She knew that, if Hinata didn't fulfill the requirements and she, herself, lost the bet, then she wouldn't have a place in "Kunoichi" anyways.

"Naoko!" he called, and an older lady came rushing in.

"Hai?" she asked with a low bow.

"Could you please escort Tsukiama-san to Hinata's room?" he asked, and Naoko nodded. Kurenai stood and turned to Hizashi, somewhat confused. "Just distract her for a few minutes," he said before motioning them from out of the room, and for Naoko to close the door. Kurenai feigned surprise, but knew exactly what he was doing—he was going to mold with the wall, travel to Hinata's room, and take the book.

"What's he…?" Kurenai began, but Naoko cut her off.

"Nothing a woman should know of. Please, Hinata's room is this way," Naoko offered, and Kurenai nodded, erasing any fake shock from her face before following Naoko down a few halls and to a room.

Naoko knocked on the door, and a thump from inside the room was heard. "Hinata-sama! Are you okay?" Naoko asked, concerned—though she couldn't open the door without permission.

"I'm… fine…" came the soft reply of Hinata.

"You have a visitor, Hinata-sama. Shall I let her in?" Naoko asked.

"Hai…" came the faltering reply of Hinata.

Naoko opened the door, only to find various black scrolls and books lying around the room. "Oh, my! Have you been studying?" Naoko asked.

"Hai… Excuse me, but who are you?" Hinata asked, looking at Kurenai.

"I'm Akane Tsukiama. And you must be Hinata Hyuuga. I'm pleased to meet you," Kurenai greeted, holding out her hand for Hinata to shake. Hinata did, and smiled lightly as she did so, because it was very rare for her to have a visitor.

"Pleased to meet you, Tsukiama-san," Hinata said as she shook her hand.

"Your father tells me you have a certain book—'Legend of the Kunoichi'. Would you mind if I took a look at it?" Kurenai asked, keeping her voice overly sweet.

"Sure! It's right… hey…" Hinata said, gesturing over to her desk. "Where did it go…?" Hinata asked herself, shuffling through the scrolls on the desk and checking beneath them. "Maybe it fell…" Hinata muttered to herself before getting on her knees and checking the areas around the desk. She ran around the room, saying "Just a minute" every time she passed Kurenai.

Ten minutes later, Hizashi sighed and walked into the room, holding up the book. "Looks like you win. Hinata—you'll be joining 'Konoha's Buds'," Hizashi said as he handed her the book, which she carefully put back on her desk.

"'Konoha's Buds?'" she asked with a frown on her face.

"Yes… it's a club for up-and-coming women. Tsukiama-san here is a member, and she came her to offer you membership," Hizashi explained, obviously slightly annoyed that a stranger knew his daughter better than he did.

"But… I don't want…" she began, only to be interrupted by Kurenai turning to her father and beginning to talk.

"How about I talk to her alone?" she asked.

"Very well. I think the east garden would be best," Hizashi offered.

"Okay. Hinata-chan, would you mind coming with me to the garden? At least allow me to try to persuade you," Kurenai offered with a smile.

Hinata bit her bottom lip before nodding and holding Kurenai's hand, leading her to the east garden, promising herself she wouldn't allow herself to be taken in by whatever ways of persuading Akane Tsukiama was going to try on her.

----

As they walked outside of the house and into the garden, Kurenai quickly performed some one-handed seals, glancing back to make sure she hadn't been noticed. She began a subtle genjutsu on Hizashi and Naoko, who were both watching, so that when they looked outside, they saw a normal conversation and couldn't read the lips of what the pair of them were discussing, with or without the Byakugan.

"Hinata, I know your secret. You're learning the way of the shinobi—illegally," Kurenai said as she sat down with Hinata on a bench.

"And… and you're threatening to let out my secret unless I join 'Konoha's Buds?'" Hinata gasped, giving her a dirty look all the while.

"No—no, not at all. See, the 'Buds' is the cover for a special organization called 'Kunoichi'. I saw you that day at the Academy, and I've been observing you since. You're getting fairly strong for your age on your own—but I, and everyone else at 'Kunoichi', would like to help you. There'll be tons of other girls your age after a while, though, for now, it'll only be a few older women. What do you say?" Kurenai offered.

Hinata stood there, her mouth wide open. "You're serious?" she asked loudly, elated.

"Yes. I'm positive you'll be accepted. So…?" Kurenai offered.

"Yes! Yes! Of course!" Hinata squealed, ecstatic.

"Very well. My real name is Kurenai—just call me Kurenai-sensei, or Kurenai-san if the situation calls for it. Okay?" Kurenai asked with a smile.

"Right!" Hinata exclaimed with a smile.

"Good, then. The day after tomorrow, you'll be spending the night over at my boss' mansion—her name is Tsunade, and so will three other girls. You'll meet her and all the other members of 'Kunoichi'. Ready to go back inside?" Kurenai offered.

"Hai!" Hinata said brightly, grasping Kurenai's hand lightly.

"Kai!" Kurenai whispered, as she feigned scratching her nose and making the seal required for releasing a genjutsu.

They walked back inside, and Kurenai smiled at Hizashi. "She's agreed. Please, drop her off at this address noon Friday. And, if it's not too short notice, we'd also like her to join in on our sleepover, which we hold weekly. Does this work for you?" Kurenai asked with a small bow.

"Hai… we have no other plans," Hizashi said with a nod.

"Very well, then. Hinata-chan, I shall see you Friday," Kurenai said before walking out of the compound.

Hinata waved to her as she walked away with a bright smile. She turned to her father and, still grinning from ear-to-ear, she asked, "Can you believe it?"

Hizashi sighed and looked down at his daughter. "Yes, I can. I'm proud of you, Hinata," he said affectionately before walking back to his study.

Hinata watched, her mouth agape, as her father walked to his study, for he had never said he was proud of her—why be proud of a daughter when you have a son that was working to become a shinobi?

… Just like she was.

**A/N: Didn't like the ending of that chapter that much, but well, it's an explanation and a history of "Kunoichi". I've already planned the next few chapters, and I will be explaining how Tenten, Ino, and Sakura get involved. If ANYONE knows the name of Genma's (the Chuunin examiner/referee who died—was sick all the time) girlfriend, I would love you for eternity. I'm also going to add a character whose personality I have NO clue of, so I'm making her… normal.**

**Ah, and yes, for those who want to see our dear Nar-Nar again… It may be a while. xP**


	4. Chapter 4

**In A Time Where Kunoichi Didn't Exist**

Hinata looked up at the large house, shocked to see that it looked like a typical mansion, owned by prissy, older women. It had two stories, large windows, and humongous doors (well, everything is humongous to someone who's only eight). It was painted white, though in some places, the paint was starting to flake off. It had a large garden, full of millions of different types of flowers from roses to simple daffodils.

"Well, Hinata-chan, we're here," Naoko said, using the suffix 'chan' since she wasn't in front of Hinata's father.

"Right," Hinata said with a slight nod, nervousness beginning to take over. Naoko pushed the doorbell's button, waiting for someone to answer the door.

An older woman answered the door after a few moments, and she gave a small bow before turning to Hinata. "You must be Hyuuga Hinata-san. Please, come in," she bade, her voice laced with stuffy polite and formalness.

"Have fun, and behave, Hinata-san," Naoko said, using "san" since she was in front of someone who she needed to make a good impression on.

"Hai, Naoko-baa-chan," Hinata said with a smile before turning to the older woman.

"This way, please, Hyuuga-san," the older woman said stiffly before turning her back and, with perfect posture, walking forward through the long yet homey hallway.

As soon as the door closed, the woman's genjutsu faded away to reveal a woman with long, black hair and astonishingly red eyes.

"So, Hinata-chan, think I convinced your nanny?" Kurenai asked with a smirk.

"… Kurenai… sensei?" Hinata asked slowly, recognizing her voice as the one who had told her about "Kunoichi".

"Hey, you're good at observations. Maybe you'll do well in genjutsu or medic-nin… No, actually, I think you should specialize in scouting, considering you have the Byakugan… Well, let's worry about who you'll be taught under later. It's time for you to meet the other girls and Tsunade-sama," Kurenai decided firmly.

"'Kay…" Hinata said, slightly confused at what Kurenai was talking about.

"You'll have to meet Tsunade before the girls—she's doing some research in this room. You can't miss her—as soon as you walk in, she'll notice you and tell you to get over there so she can get a look at you and see if you're worth joining "Kunoichi"… Not that she's ever turned anyone down before, but she still likes looking at the new recruits," Kurenai said, nodding along at certain points, as if agreeing with herself. "Well, she's just beyond this door—good lucky," Kurenai said, feigning a dark, concerned voice before opening the door for Hinata.

Hinata walked forward, glancing around for anyone who could possibly be Tsunade. Books surrounded her, all piled high on bookshelves. Hinata nearly forgot about meeting Tsunade in the thought of the thrill of searching through the ancient scrolls and learning more than she could by sneaking information from her family's scrolls.

"Hinata-chan, I presume?" came the voice of the oldest member and founder of Kunoichi, Tsunade.

"H-hai…" Hinata replied, suddenly taken over by fear, shock, and self-doubt.

"I see. Well, come along, then," Tsunade said, walking away from Hinata. Hinata was shocked to see that the woman before her, the 'founder' of Kunoichi, was a twenty-year-old blond-haired, blue-eyed beauty. Hinata shook her head to herself, reminding herself that Kurenai used… _what did she call it? a genjutsu?_ to hide her usual appearance.

Hinata was expecting at any moment for Tsunade to turn around and throw her out for stuttering just by saying "Hai"—after all, it wasn't a very complex answer.

"Hinata-chan, you'll have to loosen up if you're going to learn anything. All you were doing is meeting me—I trust Kurenai's opinion. Besides, if I decide later on that you're not worth the path of the shinobi, I can easily erase your memory and have you unconsciously feign amnesia. But it won't come to that, more than likely," Tsunade said reassuringly.

Hinata shivered to herself, knowing that Tsunade was most definitely not bluffing about erasing her memory. She followed Tsunade down a few bare hallways before opening up a door and leading Hinata inside. _'Second door on the right of the third hallway from the door…'_ Hinata memorized to herself as she walked in the door.

The room was large and in the shape of a circle. Inside, there were four girls being supervised by a young woman and a pig. The woman was tall, extremely skinny and strict-looking. Her hair was abnormally long and held back by a high ponytail. Shizune quickly introduced Hinata to the three girls, simply motioning to the girls and giving their names.

Tenten Ama vaguely looked like a panda to Hinata, for she wore two identical, black buns on the top of her head, and her clothes were obviously from a different region. Her overall appearance was cute, yet overall foreign.

Ino Yamanaka was extremely thin—almost anorexic thin, but not quite—with blond hair that went just a little past her shoulders. Her clothing looked very nice and expensive, and was obviously from a special designer. Her eyes were a light blue, and, surprisingly enough, she seemed to have no pupils. Hinata was tempted to ask if she had a bloodline limit like she did, but she decided it was a little personal.

The last girl, Sakura Haruno, looked the strangest, yet prettiest, of all. She had short, shoulder length pink hair, which was pushed back with a red ribbon. Other than her pink hair, two more physical traits stuck out—her large forehead and her startling emerald eyes.

"Okay, the first step is working together is to get to know each other. I'm going to point to each of you, and you're going to give a brief introduction of yourself, including your name, hobby, likes, dislikes and why you want to be a kunoichi. Tenten-chan, you start," Tsunade commanded.

"My name is Ama Tenten, and my hobby is learning about weapons and their uses. I like weapons and I dislike my brothers, since they have the option to be a shinobi and learn about weapons legally, but they only have interest in jutsu. I want to be a kunoichi so that I can give other generations of girls the option to become what they really want to be," Tenten said briefly. Shizune and Tsunade both nodded in approval. Tsunade turned to Hinata, signaling for her to start.

"My name is Hyuuga Hinata. My hobby is learning jutsus and working on improving my form and Byakugan. I like my family, the jutsus I've learned, and my storybook. I hate the fact that women aren't allowed to be Hokage, and my reason for becoming a kunoichi…" Hinata began, trailing off, wondering if the others would think it was silly.

"Go on," Shizune said comfortingly.

"Is to become Hokage, or to help someone who is against anti-kunoichi laws become Hokage," Hinata finished, expecting sarcasm or cynicism from the other girls.

They simply nodded and smiled, which both warmed Hinata and relaxed her.

"Okay, you next," Tsunade commanded, pointing to Ino.

"My name is Yamanaka Ino. My hobby is arranging flowers and learning my family's secret jutsu behind my father's back. I like flowers, a certain person, and mind jutsu. I dislike that I can't see a certain person, and I hate Miss Huge Forehead over there. The reason I became a kunoichi is to work on my family's secret jutsu, to hopefully impress my certain person, and to show up forehead," Ino concluded.

Tsunade and Shizune exchanged a glance and a frown before Tsunade turned to Sakura, expecting a similar report.

"My name is Haruno Sakura, and my hobby is reading and perfecting jutsu. I like a certain person and gathering information. I dislike that the certain person is to busy to see me, and I _loathe_ Ino-pig. The reason I became a kunoichi is so that I wouldn't lose to Ino-pig, to impress that person, and to gather more information," Sakura announced.

Once again, Tsunade and Shizune shared a look that plainly said, "We need to do something about these two."

"You two—we need to talk to you—" Shizune began, attempting to use her tactic of taking the girls into the hallway, but Tsunade had another idea.

"You think that being a shinobi is all about impressing guys and showing each up? Well, I have news for you! That sort of thing will _always_ come last! The life of your comrades depends on you two having a clear enough mind, without petty arguments over a _guy_!" Tsunade yelled, causing both the girls to shy away.

"But, Tsunade-sama…" Shizune began.

"Don't," Tsunade commanded, before turning back to Ino and Sakura. "Sakura, you'll be working in the medic-nin area, and Ino, you'll be working with genjutsu," she commanded, making sure they wouldn't pick the same field because of their rivalry. "Hinata-chan, Tenten-chan, which fields will you be working in?"

"Weapons management," Tenten said automatically.

"Jutsu learning," Hinata decided after a few moments of thought.

Tsunade sighed. Jutsu learning was the broadest and largest class—they learned tons of different types of jutsu, and it usually required individual treatment, due to the different paces of everyone. And, of course, it wasn't clear-cut that you could only go to that class—if you were mainly genjutsu, it was perfectly acceptable to visit on a medical day to learn regeneration or basic first aid. And, of course, jutsu learning, strength, and weapons management were the main ones that got visited on—people trying to perfect their secondary skills. It was rather unusual to pick the side ones as a main 'course' (the term course being used lightly), but yet Tenten and Hinata had done just that.

"Well, the courses you four have just decided—or been decided on—taking will be your main courses. You can learn from the other courses if you so wish, but it isn't necessary—though it is very helpful. You have to attend at least most of the main course classes—there's a schedule on the door there—but attending all of them isn't needed. You must attend most of the Friday sleepovers, because that's when we do basic training as a team and such. Now, I think we'll start off with a basic teamwork exercise. Kurenai!" Tsunade yelled, bellowing for Kurenai.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama?" Kurenai asked, opening the door and rushing in.

Tsunade leaned over to Kurenai's ears and began whispering instructions to Kurenai. Shizune, realizing that the four girls were attempting to hear what was being said, quickly put a sound barrier around the two of them, for which Tsunade acknowledged by nodding at Shizune while still talking to Kurenai. After they finished, Kurenai took out a piece of paper and jotted down a few things on it.

"Pick a number, one through four," Tsunade commanded, turning to Sakura.

"3," Sakura decided, and Tsunade turned to Ino as well.

"4," Ino said.

"1," Tenten picked.

"2," Hinata said, choosing the only available number.

Kurenai turned the sheet around, only to reveal that it said:

1 + 2

3 + 4

"Well, in this exercise, it looks like Ino and Sakura are paired up, and Tenten and Hinata are paired up. You will be playing a simple game of capture the flag—whoever gets the flag from their other opponent and makes it back to base first, wins. To the 'garden'," Tsunade commanded, leading the girls down yet another few hallways and into a small room.

"Um…" Tenten began.

"No one fight this. Kurenai, initiate genjutsu," Tsunade commanded, and Kurenai nodded.

Kurenai formed a seal and said aloud, "Forest-type scenario, scenery genjutsu!"

Suddenly, the area around Sakura, Ino, Tenten, and Hinata changed. They were surrounded by forest, and their teams were apart from each other. In Tenten's hand was a red flag, and, all the way on the other side of the forest, Ino held a blue flag.

Kurenai's face appeared to each team, and it informed, "The base is at the middle of this forest. As soon as you touch it with both your flag and the other team's flag, your team wins. Oh, and the loser has to do fifty pushups," Kurenai added, deciding a little motivation was needed.

As soon as she disappeared, Tenten turned to Hinata. "What is this Byakugan of yours?"

"It… allows me to see farther than most people can…" Hinata explained, not truly knowing how to explain it.

"Can you use it to find those two?" Tenten asked.

"Probably…" Hinata said, deciding not to give a definite yes.

"Try it. I have an idea," Tenten said.

Hinata performed the seal for the Byakugan, only to see distorted images, which put enough strain on her eyes to make her fall to her knees and release the jutsu.

"I… can't do it in… here…" Hinata gasped out, shocked by what had happened.

"And I don't have my weapons… seems like they don't want us to have any advantage over the others at all. We have to beat them by strategizing," Tenten decided.

"Wow… you're so smart…" Hinata commented, amazed at how easily Tenten was taking charge and showing how much she knew.

"Nah, just slightly more experienced than you. I have wars and stuff with my brothers, and when you fight… er, play… with shinobi, you pick up a few things. Let's go," Tenten commanded, motioning for Hinata to follow her.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Hinata asked.

"Keep moving until you see 'em," Tenten replied with a smirk, before setting off at a run, Hinata following just behind her.

On the other side of the forest, Ino and Sakura were… being Ino and Sakura.

"Ino-pig, I say we have to hide and wait for them!" Sakura yelled, annoyed that Ino wasn't even _considering_ her idea.

"Baka! What's behind that forehead, a whole lot of hot _air_? We need to start looking for them before they get to _us_! Your forehead would give us away if we tried hiding anyways!" Ino huffed.

"Ch, you have _no_ sense of strategizing whatsoever! They'll be expecting us to look for them! We need to wait and sneak attack them when they aren't expecting us!" Sakura threw back.

And so, their arguing continued, the two of them consistently arguing about which strategy to use.

Eventually, their arguing turned into a mindless argument over Sasuke.

"Sasuke _will_ be mine, Ino-pig!"

"Not if your forehead absorbs him!"

Thus, it was not a difficult task for Hinata and Tenten to sneak up on the two preoccupied, boy-obsessed, competitive girls, steal their flag, and make it to the base before they Ino or Sakura could steal it back.

----

Tsunade stood over Sakura and Ino, who were both working on their one hundred pushups. "I hope you two learned your lesson," Tsunade said in a somewhat singsong voice.

Sakura and Ino simultaneously fell to the ground, gasping and panting. Their arms were sore, and they still had at least twenty more to go. "What… lesson…" Ino panted out.

"Teamwork is important. I had the punishment added to help hammer it into your brains—if you don't use teamwork, and instead fight with your comrades, you could lose the battle, maybe even the war or your lives. Keep that in mind," Tsunade said smugly, turning to walk away.

"Wait! You… you put us… together on purpose… didn't you?" Sakura demanded from the ground.

Tsunade was slightly shocked by her speculation, but simply sighed and smirked. "Ah, your perceptive. Yes, I told Kurenai to write down two numbered pairs, and if the pairs she used didn't end up with you and Ino paired together, she should use a genjutsu to force you four to think you are paired up.

"But don't get cocky because you got that right. A shinobi—male or female—who has their heads up in the clouds shall only complete their missions if they ride the coattails of their comrades, which can bring the entire team down. Sakura, Ino—remember that," Tsunade said coldly before walking away.

"Well, you four ready to eat?" Shizune asked, attempting to change the mood.

----

The rest of the day went smoothly. Tsunade had Ino, Sakura, Hinata and Tenten go to different instructors to begin learning in their category. By the end of the day, Tenten had a better handle on the basic shinobi instruments, Hinata learned the Henge, Sakura had started on her medical training, and Ino was starting to learn the basics of genjutsu. Sakura and Ino didn't get very far, and, in the long run, though Tenten and Hinata had completely done something, they hadn't gotten far at all, either.

But they didn't realize that, for Tsunade, Shizune, Kurenai, and Tenten's teacher, Anko, had said they did well for their first day.

Surprisingly enough to Ino, Sakura, Hinata and Tenten, there were about fifty members of Kunoichi, all from Konoha. And, according to Tsunade, the Sand was even allied with them, and one of their very talented Genin kunoichi visited every now and then.

The four of them slept together in the same room, all laid out on tatami mats with a large blanket covering the four of them. Ino and Sakura laid on opposite ends so they wouldn't argue—Tenten and Hinata had insisted—and none of them could sleep.

"Hey, Tenten?" Hinata asked tentatively, making sure she was still awake.

"Yeah?" Tenten replied.

"… Tell me about your family," Hinata half-asked, half-told.

"Well, I have three older brothers, Itsuki, Shirai, and Haitani. The youngest brother, Haitani, is in the Academy, but the other two are Genin. My dad owns a blacksmith, and he often teaches mom and me about the weapons he makes. My brothers, however, have no interest whatsoever in weapons—they're all about jutsu and battle tactics, even though they were raised practically breathing weapons. Because of that, I guess my mom and dad pity me a little, because they spend a lot of time showing me weapons. I bet if I told them this was the secret organization "Kunoichi", they'd be proud. But… I don't want them to get in trouble 'cause of me," Tenten admitted.

"Wow. Your family spends a lot of time together, huh?" Hinata asked softly.

"Yeah… all the time. They're the most important people to me, even though the Itsuki and Shirai are starting to go on missions and stuff, so they are starting to get arrogant and uppity," Tenten said with a smirk, chuckling to herself.

"My family… really loves each other, and my brother is my most important person—he knows about me being a kunoichi—but… We don't get to spend a lot of time with each other, because my dad is so busy with clan stuff, my little sister is being "raised", and Neji-nii is always training and studying to lead the Hyuuga clan… So… it gets lonely sometimes at home…"

"My dad is constantly away at missions, and my mom is always busy with the flower shop," Ino said with a sigh.

"My dad… isn't around. My mom is constantly working because she has no one else to support me. I hardly see her, and when I do, she's overprotective and bossy with me," Sakura described.

"How do you think your dad will react if he knew you were a kunoichi?" Tenten asked, turning to Hinata.

"… He'd probably force me to become a 'real' lady and use his connections to avoid me from getting executed," Hinata decided.

"My dad would pretend to freak, but secretly be proud. My mom—she'd just freak," Ino said with a laugh.

"My mom would die of a heart attack," Sakura said, chuckling at the image.

"Do you think we'll ever be able to do real ninja missions?" Tenten asked to all three of the others, her curiosity showing more and more vibrantly with each passing question.

"We'll find a way," Ino said comfortingly, not quite sure how to say, "More than likely, no".

**A/N: Yes. I gave Tenten brothers. And the manga or anime never mentioned Sakura having a father, though it did have her mother pestering her or something...Temari will be introduced soon, and I'll probably end up doing a detailed time skip because I can't write four years in detail, and then later on, I'll have to do another time skip, because I can't have a 12-year-old Hokage. **

**Though that would be kind of awesome. XD**

**Anyways, review please, and continue reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**In A Time Where Kunoichi Didn't Exist**

Years passed, and things didn't change much for the four kunoichi. They practiced constantly, and soon grew to be very close. Every month or so, the four of them would even spend a night at Hinata's house, since her house was the largest. Sakura and Ino also didn't argue—as much—but they still competed, though they were now best friends (once again, according to them). Hinata was close friends with everybody, but was closest to Tenten, since they were complete opposites—Tenten had a rather large family, while Hinata's (though, in truth, much larger) felt tiny. Tenten didn't have a lot of money, while Hinata was 'filthy rich'. Tenten was a tomboy, and Hinata was extremely proper—outside of the Kunoichi meetings, that is.

As for how far they came skill-wise, their progress was astounding. Sakura had almost completed her medic-nin training (after starting to focus on it completely around the beginning of her second year at Kunoichi). Ino was around three-fourths of the way to mastering her genjutsu, and was beginning to combine her genjutsu with her family's jutsu (the ones she started learning behind her parents' backs). Hinata's new knowledge couldn't be measured the same way as Ino or Sakura's could, since they (amazingly) had a library of millions of scrolls, all with different techniques (they had this many due to Suna and their male allies in Konoha's donations), but Hinata had vastly improved in ninjutsu, and had even learned a little basic first aid and regeneration from Sakura, though Hinata did not wish to go all the way into the medic-nin techniques. As for Hinata's Byakugan, it was improving as well, but at a much slower rate, for Hinata rarely had a chance to use it. And, as for the last member of the four, Tenten was actually now helping to teach the weapon's class, since it was easier for her to get a hold of new weapons than Anko, and their knowledge was broader in different areas of weapons (Anko was more of a throwing weapon person than Tenten).

But, despite everyone else's attempts, the ones who were teaching the four of them still felt that they were like plants growing in too small flowerpots. Sure, they were gaining skill and knowledge, or roots, quickly, but they would never have a chance to spread out and gain experience. Shizune, Kurenai, and Anko all brought this up to Tsunade multiple times, but each time, she just waved them off with a very elegant, "I know, damn it! I'm working on it!"

Tsunade finally broke when Sakura finally mastered the medic techniques. Since she had mastered them when she was only twelve, Sakura couldn't use it in the hospital like she and Shizune could. Sakura… Sakura had outgrown her flowerpot, and it was crushing her. Tsunade knew that Sakura had amazing talent with it, for it had taken Sakura as long to master it as it took her, and Tsunade was much older when she had mastered the art of the medic-nin.

'Dear Kazekage-sama,

We of the organization "Konoha's Buds" are, though still in great debt for all you have done for us, in need of a great favor. We know that, though you have a faulty alliance with Konoha, you continue to help us. We would greatly appreciate it if you would allow our young flowering ones to appear as one of your own in the upcoming exams, for our flowers are starting to outgrow their pots. We assure you that they are greatly skilled, and would help put your village in a favorable light. We'd need enough pre-signed forms for two teams. Send The Wind with your answer ASAP. With permission, she, The Sand and The Master, should stay until the Chuunin exams.

With all the thanks in the world,

_The Buds_'

Tsunade sighed and walked outside, casually glancing around to make sure that no villager was watching them. She carefully slid out a carrier eagle and tied the letter to his leg. She performed a quick jutsu on him to make him blend into his environment before allowing him to fly away, always automatically headed towards Suna, where the Kazekage would receive the note and send the eagle back, usually without a letter, and then would send 'The Wind' to Konoha to visit Tsunade and the other girls, give the reply or items, and leave once again with her two brothers. She was the only one to interact with "Kunoichi" because men weren't permitted to enter "Konoha's Buds" HQ, so it was only Temari who knew it's location and who visited. In fact, Tsunade and the others had never even seen her brothers.

Not that, according to Temari, it was a bad thing.

"Kurenai! Shizune!" Tsunade called. Within a minute, the two women were in her office, awaiting her orders or information.

"If the Kazekage agrees, the girls will be entered into the Chuunin exams," Tsunade began, waiting to see their reactions, even though she could already give a very good guess at what they would be.

"But they aren't…" Shizune began, attempting to protest.

Kurenai, however, interrupted her by asking, "They need three for a team in the Chuunin exams. Who's going to be the fifth and sixth?"

Tsunade smirked at their completely opposite reactions, but decided to reassure Shizune before answering Kurenai's question. "They're ready. Tenten is already teaching a class, Ino has mastered genjutsu as far as she can without being in the real world, Sakura has mastered medical techniques, and Hinata has obtained a vast knowledge of powerful jutsus, plus she has the Byakugan." She then turned to Kurenai and said, "And, besides, one of you two will be on each team, if the Kazekage agrees," Tsunade added, making sure that the two of them wouldn't get their hopes up. "This way, we can have a genjutsu person and a medic-nin on each team for reassurance."

"So, that means we have to split up the dynamic duos, huh?" Kurenai asked with a small smirk.

"They'll understand, I'm sure," Tsunade replied back lightly. "Besides, they should know by now that they can't always end up on the same teams."

"Should we tell them?" Shizune asked.

"Not yet. If they are to do this… Their families would, more than likely, not allow us to have them for months straight, and we couldn't give them back in perfect condition—or perhaps even alive," Tsunade added wearily. "And you two know that. We… we have to fake their deaths, and forever take them away from their families. We'll tell them individually. Kurenai, you get Ino. I'll take Sakura. Shizune, you and Hinata are just like each other, so you'll talk to her. I'll have Anko break it to Tenten. We have to tell them tomorrow. Good luck," Tsunade said, officially dismissing the two of them.

'_Tomorrow… the only one that I really worry about is Tenten. I do worry about Sakura's mom, since it seems like Sakura is the only thing she has left. And… as for Ino's parents, they'll probably be distraught as well. Hinata's family… well, they'll all grieve, but they are a clan, and clans always go through a murder or a loss seriously and distinguished. I just hope they aren't too affected by this… Of course, they can always say "no" and walk away, but somehow, I don't think any of them are the types to want to do that…'_ Tsunade mused to herself. _'We'll have to give them identity changes and make them look like they're from Suna, which means complete makeovers for all of them, especially Hinata. Everything about her screams "HYUUGA", especially her eyes. We'll need to get her colored contacts for those…'_

----

"Sakura, come with me. Ino—Kurenai. Hinata—Shizune. Tenten—Anko," Tsunade said quickly before walking away from the four girls just as quickly as she had come.

"This is big," Sakura whispered to Ino before hurrying behind Tsunade to find out what was going on.

"Yeah…" Ino muttered to herself before following Kurenai into a different room as well.

Tenten gave Hinata a small thumbs-up as they passed each other on the way to following their respective informers, both very curious (some of Tenten's curiosity had rubbed off onto Hinata) about what they could all want.

----

Hinata sat across from Shizune, waiting for Shizune to start.

"I…" she began, before sighing. Tonton nudged her arm a little, encouraging her to go on. "You know the ninja ranks, right?" Shizune asked.

"Yeah… Genin, Chuunin, Jonin, and Hokage," Hinata rattled off easily, having memorized them long ago.

"Well… we… want to put you four, plus me and Kurenai—disguised, of course—in the Chuunin exams," Shizune said, deciding to go ahead and give the good news.

"Really? That's great!" Hinata exclaimed excitedly. She stopped from cheering and asked, "But… that's not all, is it?"

"No. I… we'd have to fake you four's deaths… We can't possibly ensure your parents will let us have you for months at a time without us being able to tell them what was going on, and… and we couldn't be completely sure that… you'd come back alive…" she muttered.

"I… see… So, no one could know I am still alive? I'd just disappear? Or you would make it look like someone murdered me?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah. We're going to do it different ways for the four of you so that there won't be any similarities and that they can't be traced. After we fake your death, you'd live here with us. That means you wouldn't have to worry about getting caught studying and you'd have more practice time," Shizune explained.

"You… I can't do it. I'd… miss them all too much…" Hinata admitted, looking down.

"Sometimes you have to sacrifice being with the people you love so that you can grow," Shizune muttered, quoting something Tsunade had said years ago.

"You don't understand! You don't have a family! You… just came! You didn't have to give it up!" Hinata screeched, the situation driving her temporarily crazy.

"I did have a family. I had a boyfriend, and I had friends outside of Kunoichi. I had a mother, a father, and a little brother. I gave that up so that I could work harder at becoming a medic-nin and help people. But now that I look back on it, I can't imagine marrying my old boyfriend, having kids, and watching my little brother grow up. I… I couldn't even be there for my mom when my dad died. I know what it feels like. I was the first one who gave it up so that I could fully join Kunoichi. What… what makes the difference between a real shinobi and someone who knows jutsu is what matters more to them—your own happiness or working for other's happiness," Shizune explained seriously, all sympathy leaving after Hinata's statement.

"I… I'm sorry…" Hinata muttered, tears flowing to her eyes. "I… understand… Can I at least… say bye to my brother?"

"… You can say goodbye, but you can't reveal you will still be alive. We'll 'kill' you in a week," Shizune informed before standing up and walking out of the room.

----

"You, Ino, Tenten and Hinata will be entered into the Chuunin exams as Suna shinobi, along with Shizune and Kurenai to even out the teams and for assurance. In order to do this, you'll have to feign death," Tsunade informed, her voice staying profession and somewhat cold.

"I can't," Sakura answered back evenly.

Tsunade sighed and leaned forward. "Why?"

"I… I'm all my mother has. I've heard my mother say, 'I don't know if I could keep living if it wasn't for Sakura'. I can't. My mother might seriously die or commit suicide," Sakura explained, attempting to show little feeling.

"So, you want to continue learning without ever getting to use what you're learning?" Tsunade retorted, anger starting to show. "Your mother may only be living for your sake, but… Have you ever thought that you've kept her from moving on? That you're the only thing keeping her tied to the man that left her, and by you being around, she feels like she's still around him and he's still with her? Yes, she'll be distraught, but you shouldn't live your life wondering what could have happened! And you're one of the most talented kunoichi I've seen in the medical field! Besides… do you want Ino to win?" Tsunade added dangerously.

"No, I don't want her to win. But… it's not about that… I…" Sakura was averting from Tsunade's gaze.

"We need you, Sakura. Without you, Ino, Tenten, or Hinata… they could be seriously hurt. We need you—we really do," Tsunade said, rubbing the top of her hand, attempting to comfort her, though she knew she wasn't a very good comforter.

"I… okay. I'll do it. But… if my mom commits suicide… I…"

"_If_ your mom commits suicide, she probably meant to do it a long time ago, but didn't want to leave her little girl all alone in the world," Tsunade said softly.

----

Anko leaned back in her chair, glancing at the girl who was staring intently at her. Anko was being silent, only to cleverly torture the overly curious girl.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Tenten asked after a minute of silence.

Anko sighed, inwardly deciding that she'd had enough fun watching the girl twitch and stare. "Well… how would you feel about going to the Chuunin exams?" Anko began.

"I would love it! Who's team would I be on? Would we get to beat some sense into the boys? Would we get field experience?" Tenten asked, her sentences a flurry of excited questions.

'_She really is predictable…'_ Anko thought to herself before saying, "How… would you feel about living with us here?"

"I… Hey, that'd be cool! I could study a whole lot more, and I could still borrow weapons from my parents and visit them…" Tenten turned to Anko midstream, and realized, without Anko having to say a word, that she wouldn't be able to see her parents. "I… I'd have to run away, huh?"

"Sort of. They'll think you're dead," Anko replied.

"… But… my family…" Tenten stared down at the ground.

"Your family… is the last of your priorities right now. Us kunoichi still have to beat some sense into the boys, neh?"

"H-hai… But… My family is really important to me…"

"More important to you than your dreams? Than Hinata's, Ino's, and Sakura's?" Anko asked gently.

"No… they're not. I… I'll do it…" Tenten muttered, tears flowing to the front of her eyes. "But… but if any of them are still alive when… when we finally beat sense into the men… Then can I see them, and show them I'm okay?"

"Yeah, if you want, I don't see any problem with that," Anko said with a nod. _'Sorry, Tsunade, I took a liberty… But hey, it's something for her to look forward to…'_

----

"You like it here at Kunoichi, don't you?" Kurenai asked, pacing around the room. She rarely had to give news like this, and since it was to her youngest student, that made it all the more nerve-racking.

"Yeah! I love it here!" Ino exclaimed, liking where the conversation was going.

"How would you like going into the Chuunin exams?"

"Really? That'd be great!" Ino exclaimed.

"… Here's where it gets bad," Kurenai warned. Ino leaned forward to listen more intently, and Kurenai asked, "Would you like living here and going to those exams, even if it meant you never saw your parents… again?"

Ino stared down at the floor. "My parents are busy, anyways. They'd be better off without me. Maybe they wouldn't have to work so hard…" Ino mused, giving off a fake chuckle.

"You and I know that's bullshit," Kurenai said, looking up at the ceiling as she did so. "I'm not trying to give you reasons to say 'no', but they'll miss you and they'll be distraught that you're dead. You mean a lot to those two, whether or not they're around to show it."

"… I know…" Ino muttered to herself, somewhat ashamed of herself for knowingly lying to make Kurenai think she was an emotionless shinobi—not that that was really possible for any of the four.

"But, you're still coming, right?" Kurenai asked for confirmation.

"'Course," Ino muttered, using 'course instead of 'of course', because she honestly didn't feel like talking.

"… Good," Kurenai decided, not sure how to comfort the younger girl, though she knew that Ino was having a hard time.

----

"Yosh! After a year of training and preparations, I believe our team is ready for the Chuunin exams!" Gai exclaimed to his three students.

"Sensei!" Lee cried out passionately, happy tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Lee! Show them all at the exams!" Gai cried back out in response.

Neji smirked as his sign of approval as he watched the two carry on, while his other teammate, Satoshi, stood next to him with an extremely pleased, lop-sided smile.

"Yosh! You three need to have these signed in two week's time! Train harder than ever 'til then!"

"Gai-sensei, please watch over my training vigorously!" Lee asked with a salute.

"Hai! I shall help you grow to your full potential in time for the Chuunin exams!" Gai responded, giving his ever-so-famous "Good Guy" pose.

Neji sighed as he watched the two of them carry on. _'Gosh, why did I get stuck with the weird, hyper duo?'_

** - Satoshi is a minor character, and the character I used to fill Tenten's spot. I could have used Sai, but honestly, I'm not far enough in the manga to be able to effectively write about him. The (guy) teams will be as follows:**

**Gai – Neji, Lee, Satoshi**

**Kakashi – Naruto, Sasuke, Kiba**

**Asuma – Shikamaru, Chouji, Shino**

**Anyways, thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing. Please keep it up! Suggestions are always welcome. **


	6. Chapter 6

**In A Time Where Kunoichi Didn't Exist**

The night they chose for Hinata's death was a cold, bitter night in the middle of Konoha's winter. It very rarely snowed in Konoha, but it often hailed and sleeted during the winter months. The sky, however, was clear, and the half-moon shone brightly. The wind was blowing slightly, but for the most part, the night was very still.

Kurenai and Tsunade planned out Hinata's death to be a murder. Kurenai would put a genjutsu on herself to make it seem as if she was a Cloud ninja, sneak into the Hyuuga compound, and 'murder' her. She would, of course take the body with her, and leave tons of blood that Tsunade would donate from the hospital. Kurenai would then take Hinata back to the mansion. On the way, they would stop at a pre-determined tree, grab Hinata's needed belongings out of a bag in the tree, and then make their way back to the mansion. Hinata would be the second to leave, right after Sakura, who wanted to escape first and had few complications in leaving. They had a few months before the Chuunin exams, and they would all be dead by the end of two week's time.

----

Hinata lay awake in her bed, biting her lip in both excitement and worry. Kurenai was supposed to come in her room at exactly 1:23 a.m. (they decided midnight was far too predictable, and 1:23 a.m. was further into the second watchmen's shifts, so they'd be more tired). It was currently 1:30, and Kurenai wasn't known for being late. She was also upset that she hadn't been able to 'say goodbye' to Neji, who was out on a mission and would be returning the following morning to the chaos of his little sister's kidnapping.

Hinata heard a crashing sound outside her door, and she jumped up automatically. She then realized that Kurenai probably had a little more trouble getting in than she had previously thought, and she lay back against her pillow, closing her eyes and turning away from the door. She, though it was a risk, activated the Byakugan to see what was going on past her doors without having to get up and open the doors, which would risk the operation.

"Byakugan," she whispered to herself. Her eyes shot open, and Hinata used them to look through her walls. Kurenai was currently in a hand-to-hand fight with about three of the guards, and the other five were already on the ground. The alarm had been sounded, so that probably meant that, unless Kurenai hurried, all the men in the family would soon be upon her.

In a swift roundhouse kick, Kurenai knocked two guards together before turning and landing an accurate—and obviously _hard_—punch to the last guard's temple. She straightened up and ran for Hinata's door. Hinata sat up and helped pull the container of blood out of her bag, before allowing Kurenai to set the scene up (Kurenai had more experience with blood than she had). She sprinkled some blood around the room, leading to the window, and poured the mass majority of it onto the bed, making it look as if she had cut Hinata's throat.

She drew a jagged trail quickly across Hinata's neck. "Okay, I'm going to knock you out so that you're relaxed and don't give us away," Kurenai briefly explained before slamming the side of her neck into Hinata's nape.

Hinata fell limp to the floor. Kurenai quickly picked her up, glanced around for guards and other people, and then ran to the window, which Hinata had left open. She jumped out of it and landed running. Branch family members saw her land, and began running after her. She made a quick genjutsu to help them escape, in which the Hyuuga were sinking into the ground. She jumped the high fence and ran for the tree. Without even bothering to stop, Kurenai ran past the tree, jumped up, and snatched the bag,

Kurenai soon arrived at the mansion. She didn't bother knocking, but just hurried inside. She closed the door behind her softly before walking to the room that was going to be Hinata's. She set Hinata down on the bed gently, so that she wouldn't wake up, and put her things at the foot of her bed.

----

"Her throat was sliced?" Hizashi asked the Branch member.

"Confirmed."

"The one who kidnapped Hinata was a Cloud nin?"

"Confirmed."

"The Cloud nin used genjutsu to escape?"

"Confirmed."

"Hinata… is dead?"

"…Confirmed," the Branch member answered back sadly, his pause showing that he felt guilty.

"I see. Is Neji awake?"

"No. Last time I checked, he was still asleep. He's fine, Hyuuga-sama," the Branch member replied reassuringly.

"Hanabi?" Hizashi asked, pausing slightly to think about the oddity that was the Cloud nin.

"She's asleep and fine as well."

Hizashi sighed. "Close Hinata's room off. No one is to ever enter there. Dismissed," Hizashi said before walking down the hallway towards his room.

'_Why would a Cloud nin use genjutsu? And why'd they go after Hinata?' _he asked himself as he walked into his room. He glanced around, and realized that _nothing_ of importance had been taken. He shuddered as he thought of Hinata, but refused to cry, as he had not cried over his own brother's death, his parents' deaths, and even his wife's death. _'Losing a child feels… different,' _he told himself as he sank to the bed, but decided not to sleep.

He would stay awake and vigilant. He would not leave the job to the guards. It was his fault Hinata died—for he had relied completely on the guards and let his guard slip.

The same thing would _not_ happen to Neji or Hanabi.

----

Soon after Hinata's 'death', Ino and Tenten came to live at the mansion as well. Four days after Hinata's death, Tenten was 'killed' in a weapons accident, where a shelf containing various weapons fell down on top of her and managed to pierce through her. At her time of death, her parents were away making a house call for someone who required a custom-made weapon, since he only had four fingers on each hand (he was a ninja and born that way, unfortunately). Her brothers were all away doing missions or training, and Tenten had been left home alone. Shizune and Tsunade had created a lifelike version of Tenten using gelatin, and organs and a skeletal system from some cadavers. They covered her in fake blood and took all afternoon to set the scene up to make it look real before leaving, just a few minutes before the youngest brother returned from his D mission.

Ino's leaving was much harder to plan. She lived in a house with a shinobi, a Jonin who was constantly vigilant. Also, her mother was very overprotective of her as well. Tsunade decided the best way to have Ino leave her house was for her to simply run away, and leave a note giving her parents false pretenses as to her location. She, in the note, would say she was going to the Village Hidden in the Mist to try her hand at being a kunoichi, and that she would be fine. It would even say on the note how she would escape—through a merchant caravan that had agreed to take her. She would even give the route, which would make it all the more plausible. The only problem with giving that much information was that they had to tell which route she was taking in a very tricky manner, for it would seem overly stupid of Ino to give them the exact route. Instead of giving the route—north or northeast—she gave them a brief description of some of the flowers that one of the caravan members said would be on the route, and what they were called. So, three days after Tenten's death, Ino slipped out of her house and left the note, also taking with her all of her important belongings.

After they all arrived, Tsunade had to give them a talk about their appearances. They were all lined up, side-by-side. She turned to Tenten first, and said, "Your brothers are all shinobi. What are you going to do if they happen to see you? Hmm… We can change your hairstyle and your clothing style, I suppose… We'll also need some sort of colored contacts. We'll get you… a light caramel brown, I think. Yes, we'll make you look extremely feminine. Kurenai can help with the makeup and hairstyle," Tsunade said with a nod after examining her carefully.

She turned to Ino, who was obviously apprehensive. "Your father is a shinobi, so we need to be very careful… If he sees you, he'll be able to locate you. I think that we should cut your hair to about shoulder-length, and then dye it black. We'll also have to get you gray contacts, since your eyes are a rare color. When you're older and more apt with your genjutsu, you may use it the same way Kurenai does. We'll also give you a pair of black pants and a blue halter top, kind of like the one you're wearing now."

"Sakura… We'll need to dye your hair as well—I think a dark brown will do nicely. We should also pin your hair up () into a bun, and I think hazel contacts will be good. We'll give you a set of outfits similar to Ino's, except that your pants will be khaki and your shirt will be white."

"Hinata, you're the one we need to worry about the most. We'll cut your bangs a bit shorter and dye your hair… red. And, the most important thing is, you have to wear these green contacts _at all times_. _Anyone_ with the proper experience can determine that you're from the Hyuuga clan of Konoha if they see your eyes. _They… must… stay… in… at… _**_all_**_… times_," Tsunade finished, emphasizing every word. "Oh, and your clothes are too identifiable—we'll get you an outfit similar to Temari's, except it'll be dark blue."

After Tsunade had gone to every one of them to explain what changes were going to be made, Shizune, Kurenai, Anko, and Uzuki (a very skilled kunoichi), all began to work on their hair. After they did that, Tsunade passed out the contacts and showed them how to put them in. Shizune then gave them all five sets of their clothes, and ushered them to their rooms so that they could try on their new outfits and get used to the way they looked.

----

Instead of partying their first night after getting their new looks, as the older members all expected, they all studied vigilantly. After getting their team lists—which included Shizune, Ino, and Tenten on one team (Tsunade would be their team leader for authorization purposes), and Sakura, Hinata and Kurenai (with Uzuki) on the other—the two young kunoichi on each team studied different things. Sakura practiced medical jutsu constantly, so that if someone on her team got hurt, she could heal them and falter because she hadn't had practice. Hinata constantly worked on different types of jutsu, ones that she knew they could possible use—a fire jutsu, a few trapping jutsu, and she also practiced a little with the Byakugan to help perfect it. She still remembered how well her cousin Neji's Byakugan had developed—though it pained her to think about it—and she wanted to work on developing hers to become better and more efficient. Ino studied diligently at genjutsu, taking up all of Kurenai's extra time to practice and get better at observing the "little things" which so often threw many people off. Tenten worked on making custom weapons—with Anko's much needed help—for all of the other girls.

This continued for a month and a half, until the week of the Chuunin exams was at hand. Ino, Tenten, Sakura, and Hinata were all waiting on pins and needles, knowing that it was coming. Tsunade had to constantly remind them that it wasn't set in stone that they'd be going to the Chuunin exams—if the Kazekage said 'no', they would not be able to sign up, and would have to wait another year to even attempt joining again.

Finally, about five days before the Chuunin exams, Temari visited with the Kazekage's reply.

A knock came at the door, and Tsunade answered it quickly, knowing that it could only be Temari with the reply. "Here," Temari said briefly. Tsunade opened the letter hurriedly, skimming through the Kazekage's reply to find the answer. She smiled brightly when she read the "I agree to the terms, and your kunoichi can be signed up for the Chuunin exams under the Sand's name".

Temari handed a box containing Sand hitai-ates and sighed. "If you want my personal opinion, I think it's a mistake," Temari pointed out.

"The girls cannot grow if they never get field experience," Tsunade answered back shortly.

"The place to get that is _not_ in a life-risking tourney full of blood-thirsty sadists," Temari replied.

"Asking the Kazekage to give us some of the _Sand's_ missions would not bode well," Tsunade explained.

Temari sighed and replied, "It's not my place to judge, anyways. I'll be leaving now—I need to keep Gaara from killing Kankuro. Oh—also, don't forget to use the names the Kazekage provided," Temari added before walking off.

"You know, you're always welcome to stay here for a little while…" Tsunade said suggestively.

"It's be a waist of my time. Besides—if I'm not there, Kankuro attempts indirect suicide by pissing off Gaara," Temari said over her shoulder, not bothering to turn around to answer her.

"Ch," Tsunade clicked softly, trying not to allow herself to get _too_ angry at the insolent kunoichi from Suna. "Girls!" she cried out as she walked back in. "Great news!" she yelled.

----

"Midori?" Tenten asked, blinking a few times at the name she'd be using.

"Ch, better than Haruka…" Ino muttered coldly.

"I kind of like Naru…" Hinata said softly.

"Shinobu is kind of a strange name, though…" Sakura pointed out.

"And I'm Sara-sensei, and Uzuki is now Mitsune-sensei," Shizune noted.

"These names sound… familiar," Tenten said, trying to think of where she had heard these names before.

----

"Kazekage-sama, was it really necessary to give the Konoha kunoichi names from Love Hina?" ()

"… Yes," the Kazekage answered back, pretending to think for a moment.

----

"Well, I guess it doesn't matter. Now that we _know_ we're in the Chuunin exams, we'd better study even harder!" Tenten exclaimed suddenly.

"You got it, Midori-chan," Hinata said with a small giggle.

"Oh, c'mon! I hate my name! Let's not go by them until the Chuunin exams!" Ino begged.

"No, Hin—I mean, _Naru_-chan has a good Idea. Go by your code names so that you won't mess up during the exams," Shizune explained.

"Hai, Sara-sensei…" Ino muttered.

"C'mon, Haruka-pig, let's go study!" Sakura said in a singsong voice.

"Sakura! I'm going to—"

"Shinobu," Hinata corrected, not bothering to try and stop their fight.

"Shinobu, I'm going to murder you!" Ino screeched.

"Try it, Haruka!"

----

A soft knock came at Tenten's door after light's out. Tenten sighed, knowing that it was Hinata—for Ino nor Sakura _ever_ knocked on her door—and she opened it slowly.

"Did I wake you?" Hinata asked softly.

"No, I always stay up about thirty minutes after light's out to see if you'll visit," Tenten said with a smirk. "What's wrong?"

"Well… It's just… Do you think Neji-nii will be at the exams? He's been a Genin for a year now, and I think that… that he'd be there," Hinata admitted.

"Well, Hinata… I mean, Naru-chan… It's a possibility. What you've got to remember, though, is that you've got to keep up your façade no matter who is there. If you father was there to watch or something—or even Hanabi—you can't speak to them—at all. Otherwise, you just end up messing everything up for all of us. Okay?"

"Thanks, Midori-chan… I needed to hear that," Hinata replied before hugging Tenten quickly and going back to her room.

'_But, then again, I would like to meet this 'Neji-nii' of Hinata's. After all, according to her, he is the one who mainly helped to shape Hinata's life, and he's really sweet to her. Most clan members are complete jerks, yet it seems that he actually isn't. He must be an interesting person…'_ Tenten thought to herself as she crawled back under the covers and glanced in the mirror. She frowned, turned away from the mirror, and closed her eyes. _'I don't look like me…'_ she thought simply before her mind drifted and she fell into a deep sleep.

----

**A/N: Well, sorry it took so long to write! XP I hope you enjoyed it, and please review! **

** - Sakura and Ino didn't cut their hair like they did in the manga/anime, obviously.**

** - I read the manga a little while ago, and it's still on my computer. I had very little resources to find names from, so I decided why not? Oh, and Midori is the name that Naru almost got.**


	7. Chapter 7

**In A Time Where Kunoichi Didn't Exist**

The Chuunin exams soon approached, and the two teams were fully prepared to take on any obstacles the Chuunin exams could throw at them. Even Hinata was confident, and she was constantly encouraging the others that they would win, despite the fact that everyone else was just as hyped up for the big event.

The forms were filled out, they were used to using their codenames, and they felt like they were fully prepared for whatever the Chuunin exams could throw at them. They assembled and slipped out of the mansion by night, so that no shinobi would happen to recognize them coming out of the Buds mansion. They went to a hotel, which Tsunade had given them money for, and were going to stay there the duration of the time they'd be 'in town' for the Chuunin exams. Tenten, Hinata and Shizune all shared rooms, while Kurenai, Ino and Sakura shared the other room. There were two beds in each room, along with a large dresser (which contained six drawers), and everyone used two drawers for all of their things. They stayed at the same hotel that Gaara, Temari and Kankuro were at, and actually were only a few rooms away from them. All of the younger girls were secretly hoping that they'd be able to become friends with Temari, Gaara and Kankuro, since they were always helping them out.

"So, what are we going to do until tomorrow?" Tenten asked, flopping on the bed beside Hinata.

"Dunno. Maybe we could…" Hinata began to suggest, but Shizune automatically threw her suggestion out of the window.

"No partying. We have a rough day ahead of us tomorrow," Shizune told them sternly.

"What are Tsunade and Kurenai-sensei doing?" Hinata asked in a bored tone from her and Tenten's bed as she clipped parts of her nail.

"Tsunade shall be continuing her shift at the hospital. She couldn't get me a vacation, so she's covering my shifts. Kurenai is going to continue working on getting honorary members. We need quite a few more of them," Shizune explained.

Honorary members were male shinobi from the village who were affiliated with the Buds. Picking them was hard to do—it was sometimes hard to determine who was loyal to Konoha, and who was loyal to Konoha but opposed their anti-kunoichi laws. Doing so involved very careful studying, and sometimes carefully planned tests. It was a dangerous mission, because failure could be fatal to the entire group, and if they were caught before they could be fully evaluated, they would more than likely be sent to prison or be executed.

A few of the women who had gone out to find honorary members sometimes never came back—they would just disappear without a trace. These were the cases Hinata found the scariest, for no matter how much investigating was done, they could never find bodies or any other signs of them. This meant that they were more than likely caught by rogue ninja, ones who so opposed women being kunoichi that they would actually kill them illegally and dispose of their bodies. They were obviously at least Jonin or ANBU, for they were always disposed of carefully.

Hinata cringed at the thought of them. She crawled under the covers in a feeble attempt to stop the shivers running up and down her back, but to no avail. The ones that were caught and imprisoned she felt sympathy for. The ones who were caught and executed she felt extremely sorry for. But… the ones who never came up… they were most likely tortured or raped. This meant that some shinobi was using them as a personal play thing, and was… Hinata didn't like to think about it.

She and Tenten fell into fitful, yet excited sleep.

----

The forms had been filled out, and they were making their way to room 301. They walked through the hallways, glaring at anyone who gave stared, or even glanced at them. Some of them had the gall to whisper as they passed, instead of at least waiting until they were gone. They climbed two flights of stairs, and paused as they heard a fight going on.

"You plan to take the Chuunin exam with _that_?" they heard a cruel voice yell, laughing sarcastically at whoever they were fighting. They rounded the corner to see a boy in a green jumpsuit, wiping the side of his mouth, two dark-haired, overly bandaged boys standing above him.

Hinata nearly gasped out as she saw her cousin, Neji, standing to one side of the jump-suited boy. Tenten noticed this and looked up, automatically picking out which one was Hinata's cousin—not that it was hard, for she went by the eyes.

"Hey, _assholes_, you have _no_ right to not let us pass!" another boy yelled. He had orange hair and light green eyes, and was obviously very temperamental. He stomped his right foot, not unlike a female, and crossed his arms.

"Satoshi… You're acting like a girl again. Even else will target us because we have a effeminate guy on our team," Neji growled.

"Stop acting like you're the king of the world, Neji!" Satoshi threw back, adding wild hand motions.

Neji sighed grumpily, wanting terribly to slap his own teammate.

Then, as if Neji's wish had come true, one of the boys, in a flurry of motion, smacked Satoshi across the face, sending him flying towards the ground.

From the ground, Satoshi growled and stood up, glaring at the boy. "This is our kindness. The Chuunin exam isn't easy… even we have failed it three consecutive times. Those that take this exam and end up quitting as shinobi, those that die during the exam… We have seen it all. And Chuunins often become captains of military teams. The failure of a mission, the death of a comrade… That is the responsibility of a Chuunin. Yet… kids like you, think you can pass?"

"We are just thinning out those that will fail anyways. What's wrong with that?" the other boy added in.

Out of nowhere, a dark haired boy—one that both Sakura and Ino gasped at upon his entrance—said, "I agree, but… You will let me pass through, and remove this surrounding created by genjutsu. I'm going to the 3rd floor."

Murmurings came from throughout the crowd, and Hinata leaned to Ino. "Did… you realize that this was a genjutsu?"

"Yeah… We've only climbed two flights of stairs, really. They've honestly just changed the sign. It's nothing big, just a simple genjutsu," Ino analyzed.

"So, you've noticed…Hmm, not to bad, but all you've done is see through it," the bandaged boy yelled as he went to kick the dark-haired boy. The dark-haired boy moved to kick him as well, but the boy in the jump suit stopped them both. He caught their kicks, as if they were nothing to him. Hinata desperately wanted to activate the Byakugan to see how his chakra was running through his body, just to know what sort of chakra he was using. That could not possibly be normal chakra.

"Hey, let's go," Uzuki urged them.

"Why? It's just getting interesting!" Sakura protested.

"Shinobu, it is a rule that we must stay out of such things. Besides, our teams really must separate…" Shizune said, supporting Uzuki.

"Fine," Sakura pouted. Hinata looked back at the boys to see what was going on, and it was then that she saw him—Naruto. He was standing behind the dark haired boy, next to a boy with a dog on his head, glaring at the boy with dark hair.

"Naruto…?" she whispered aloud.

"Naru?" Tenten asked, worried.

"Nothing…" Hinata replied, shaking her head. "Come on, let's go," she suggested.

----

They climbed another flight of stairs and went into their room, room 301. They stared, hiding any shock or fear in their eyes, at the large group of people. There were seemingly endless amounts of people all around the room, each of them looking like they were from a gang. The two teams separated, and Hinata sighed. She'd have to rely on her own courage, not Tenten's, to get through the Chuunin exams. It was about the first time that she would have to, because it seemed that Tenten was always there to comfort and support her. And now, she, unlike the others, knew two of the many that were taking the exam. Naruto and Neji… to avoid or to slyly talk to?

She followed Uzuki and Sakura to a different side of the room, where they met up with Temari, Gaara, and Kankuro. It was their first time seeing Temari's brothers, and it unnerved Hinata. The older one couldn't be much worse than a playground bully, but the other… He had a cold look to his eyes, as if he had been born jaded.

"Gaara, Kankuro," Temari introduced, pointing to her brothers. "This is Naru, Shinobu, and Mitsune," Temari said, pointing to Hinata, Sakura, and Uzuki's forms.

"Hn," Kankuro answered, obviously uninterested. Gaara did not even bother replying.

"Do you know anything about any of the people here?" Uzuki asked lowly, glancing around the room as she did so.

"Yeah. We got some profiles of Konoha people. Anyone you interested in?" Temari asked with a smirk.

"Yeah… He's got dark hair, dark eyes… From the sign on his back, he's a Uchiha," Uzuki explained.

"Uchiha Sasuke. We know of him already. He lost his parents in some sort of clan thing years back… His brother, apparently, killed his entire clan but him. His teammates are Kiba Inuzuka and Naruto Uzumaki, both of whom are of no consequence. Their sensei is Kakashi, the copy-nin." Temari explained.

"Ano… Can I please get information on Uzumaki?" Hinata asked shyly, pressing her forefingers together.

"Yeah, but only if you stop acting like a damn kindergartner. You're representing Sand now, kid, and we can't have you running around like some lost baby. You need to look _strong_," Temari hissed.

Hinata straightened up and put her hands at her sides, glaring lightly at Temari, even if it was only a façade. "Understood," she replied, keeping her strong look. She really did need the information, after all.

Temari sighed. "He barely passed the Genin exams, is an idiot, and wants to be Hokage. Just another wannabe shinobi with an impossible dream. Why?" Temari asked.

"He reminds me of someone I know. How about Hyuuga Neji?" Hinata asked coolly.

Temari smirked. "I don't think you want that information."

"Why?"

"Because, half his record is episodes. He's become… violent and cold. He doesn't care anymore. Not since…. Well, you know," Temari explained, not wanting to give off too much.

Hinata fought back tears, and looked ahead at Temari with a blank stare. "I see…" she muttered.

"Maybe you shouldn't have asked," Sakura told her quietly.

"No, I needed to know," Hinata explained. "Thank you, Temari-san, for the information and everything else," Hinata half-muttered, before walking off to the side. Kankuro and Temari exchanged a look, one Gaara would not have understood, for he did not read well into feelings, other than his own.

'_Neji, what happened to you?'_ Hinata thought, just as the last few Genin filed into the room.

Suddenly, a loud cry erupted from across the room. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I won't lose to you bastards!"

Hinata held back a giggle at his antics, though everyone around the room was now glaring at him—or, in the case of the other Konoha nin, yelling at him to shut the hell up.

"The Sand also has no room for schoolgirl crushes," Gaara said to Hinata coldly.

Hinata was almost ready to throw thousands of questions at him, for instance, did he know what happened years ago? Did he know something she didn't? Why was he such an asshole?

They heard an entrance, and a cloud of smoke came in the front of the room. Standing inside the cloud of smoke were tons of people wearing Chuunin vests, and also a large man with scars covering his face. He had a large trench coat on, and underneath his headband was a bandana covering the top of his head.

"Thanks for waiting. I am Morino Ibiki, the examiner for the Chuunin selection exam's first test," he said lowly, but somehow loudly enough for everyone to hear him clearly. "Hidden Sound nin, stop doing as you please before the exam," he said, addressing a team from the Hidden Sound. Apparently, they had attacked after Naruto's outburst, but the others had been too distracted to notice.

"I apologize… This is our first time… We got a bit carried away…" a strange boy wearing a Sound hitai-ate said.

"Bah… Here's a good opportunity to say this. There will be no fighting without the permission of the examiner. Even with permission, killing your opponent will not be tolerated. Those pigs that disobey me will fail immediately. Do I make myself clear?" he asked, addressing everyone in the room. There were no 'Yes sir's or even nods, just staring, light glares, and intense glares at him.

Ibiki instructed them to all take a tab, and they were all split up across the room. Hinata was shocked to find that she was seated to the left of Naruto. She looked at her teammates, but accidentally caught gazes with Temari. Temari gave her a look that plainly said not to look at, talk to, or even acknowledge Naruto, even though Naruto was now depressed that it was a written exam.

Ibiki listed off the rules, and allowed them to look at their tests. Hinata was analyzing the questions, doing her best to answer them.

'_I don't know any of this! Do Genin really learn all of this at the Academy?! They can't possibly know this… Wait. That's it! We're… we're not meant to know any of this! We're meant to… cheat? Is that right? Well, I suppose it makes sense—after all, we're ninja. We should be able to cheat without getting caught. That explains why we don't fail if we get caught…'_ Hinata thought to herself. _'I wonder if any of the others know…?"_

Hinata groaned and put her head down on the table. _'I don't know any other ocular jutsu, so… I'll have to use my Byakugan,"_ she told herself with a sigh. She muttered, "Byakugan," lightly against the table, muffling her jutsu even more than it normally would have been.

She looked around the room, searching for anyone who had the answers. She saw someone writing down all the answers quickly, and upon further inspection, she realized that they all sounded right. She quickly copied the answers and turned her Byakugan off, hoping no one would notice.

No one seemed to notice, and none of the Chuunin examiners made a mark on their paper right after she did. She glanced back to Tenten, who was using a strange setup of reflecting hitai-ates and shiny weapons to find her answers. Sakura was marking the answers all on her own, which made sense, because she was smart. She held back a laugh when she saw Ino taking over Sakura's body to take her answers, which was funny considering they were from the same village.

Hinata looked back down at Naruto, whose paper was blank. They didn't have long before the final question. "Hey… I don't know how to go about doing favors for strangers… But I think I'll help you," she whispered to Naruto, already feeling the glare Temari was sending her way in the back of her head.

"Really? You… you don't even know me!" he whispered back, shocked.

"Well… you remind me of someone I know. Just do it," she muttered, moving over her paper to where he could copy it. "We have very little time left. Copy it," she commanded.

"Why do you want to help me?" he whispered again, sensing a trap.

"I… swear it's not a trap… You just remind me of someone that really helped me. I never got to thank him. So… so I guess… it'd feel like I was thanking him by doing this…" she explained.

He leaned over, as if to cheat. However, he stopped halfway there. "You… you don't understand," he said.

"What?" she whispered, extremely shocked.

"An incredible ninja like me doesn't need to cheat," he explained.

"I see. Good luck, then, Naruto-kun," she said, his name rolling off her tongue easily.

"Thanks. Wait! I never told you my name!" he half exclaimed, surprised.

"Your paper," she lied quickly, looking away from him to keep from losing points for cheating.

"Oh," he answered back dumbly.

More and more people were being called to leave for failing by cheating, and many just up and gave up. It was shocking to hear how quickly most were being kicked out.

Kankuro raised his hand and asked to go to the bathroom, and a Chuunin cuffed his hands and led him there.

A few minutes later, the time for the tenth question came. Ibiki stood up and announced, "We will now release the tenth question. Now, before we get to it… I'd like to go over the added rules for this question," he began.

Kankuro chose that time to reenter the room, and Ibiki addressed him. "Was your doll playing beneficial?" he asked coldly.

'_Doll? Is… is a puppet user?'_ Hinata asked herself.

Kankuro glared at him and passed by Temari on the way to his seat, passing her the answers as well.

Ibiki began to talk again, and he said, "I'll now explain… These are the rules of desperation. First, for this question, you must decide whether or not you'll take it."

"Choose? What happens if we choose not to?" Temari demanded from the back.

"If you choose not to, your points will be reduced to 0, and you'll fail, along with your teammates!" A few outbursts erupted, and Ibiki continued. "And now… the other rule. If you choose to take it, and answer incorrectly, that person will lose the right to take the Chuunin selection exam again."

"What kind of stupid rule is that? There are people in here who have taken the exam before!" the other member of Naruto's team, Kiba, yelled.

"Heh, you guys were unlucky. This year it's my rules. But I am giving you a way out," he explained.

Many 'What's and 'Huh's came, and he elaborated. "Those that aren't confident can choose not to take it… And try again next year. Now, let's begin the tenth question," he instructed. "Those who do not wish to take it… raise your hand. Once your number is confirmed, leave."

Many people raised their hands, and apologized to their teammates as they all left the room. Hinata was beginning to freak out, saw Naruto freak out, and then freaked out even more. She was shaking, and was ready to raise her hand. She knew Uzuki neither Shizune would raise their hands, for they knew it was not their decision to fail for the others.

Hinata bit her bottom lip to keep her head clear and free of any fear of not being able to take the selection exam. She took a deep breath and glanced over to her left, where Naruto's shaky hand was beginning to rise into the air.

"Naruto…" she whispered lightly, too silent to be heard.

He slammed his hand onto the table, and yelled, "Don't underestimate me! I will _not_ run!" His voice intensified, and he continued yelling. "I'll take it! Even if I'm a Genin forever! I'll will myself to become Hokage, anyway, so I don't care! I am not afraid!"

As if his words were meant to dispel her fears, Hinata stopped shaking.

"Idiot… Now there will be more contestants…" she heard Uzuki mutter from a few seats above her.

Ibiki was wearing a look of determination, but even Hinata could see through that façade. He knew that no one would want to quit after that statement, and he was only giving him that look to hopefully squeeze a team or two out of the competition.

"I'll ask you again. Your life is riding on this decision, and this is your last chance to quit," he state calmly. Hinata applauded him for his amazing skills at hiding any sign of uncertainty or the like.

"I'll follow my unbending words… That's my nindo," Naruto replied, just as calmly and coolly, but with a smirk instead of a frown.

"Good decisions. Now, to everyone still remaining. I congratulate you on passing the first test!"

**A/N: I decided to end it on Ibiki's congratulation instead of Anko's entrance, but the next chapter will be the first half—or maybe third, depending on how I make it—of the second part of the Chuunin exams, and then of course the selection thingy… To all of those that have read this in the manga and seen it in the anime (cough, me), this part will seem a bit… overdone. However, after this part, it'll be a little more… original. Sorry that it's pretty much redoing the manga. :P The next chapter will be more interesting, I promise! )**

**Reviews are always appreciated, and thanks to all my reviewers! I should be getting internet really soon (yes, I know I've said this like, a thousand times, but… well, my dad keeps changing when we'll get internet), and I'll be updating my stories more (since I won't be updating all three of my current stories at once, I'll be doing them one-by-one as I finish them, plus I'll probably be writing more one-shots (I may even do a two-shot or two). **

**Oh, and another note to my reviewers—sorry I haven't been replying. I don't get much Internet time, and when I do, I don't usually feel like replying (… sorry if that sounds insensitive), nor do I really feel like replying to e-mails. I usually get on for things like school, I'll upload chapters (or whatever) and hop off.**

** But that's changing. I have internet now! )  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**In A Time Where Kunoichi Didn't Exist**

Just after they all cheered, another man walked into the room. He sighed and rubbed the back of his hair with a sigh, the toothpick—with looked suspiciously like it could be used as a senbon—hanging out his mouth, giving him an overly casual aura. His shoulder length brown hair was straight and had no kinks or waves in it whatsoever. His body was nothing special, but there was some sort of deadliness lurking behind the surface, and Hinata could sense it. But, then again, that was also part of being a ninja—to hide the fact that you are a good ninja in order to throw off your enemies.

"This is the group? or did you let those that failed stay in the hallway, and send the ones who passed on ahead?" he asked Ibiki sarcastically.

"More passed than I thought they were. It's the fault of Mr. Pep-talk," Ibiki muttered, motioning to Naruto. The brown-haired ninja, who wasn't really paying attention to who he was pointing to, simply nodded and turned to the group.

"My name is Genma, but it won't matter to most of you, as some of you will die, and even more will fail this test. Basically, you and your team will sign this form," and here Genma held up a slip of paper.

Before he could continue, Temari, surprisingly to Hinata, raised her hand and asked, "Excuse me, but what are these forms for?"

"These forms make us in no way responsible for any deaths or injuries," Genma explained tonelessly before continuing, ignoring the gasps that issued from the mouths of many of the Genin. "Each team, after turning in their forms, will receive a scroll, which will be either Heaven or Earth. The object of this test is to obtain both scrolls and make it to the tower in the middle of the forest. You cannot open the scrolls until you get inside this tower. You'll have a week to finish the test.

"We'll pass the forms out now, and once they're turned in, you will receive a scroll. There you and the other teams will line up at different gates and be released as soon as everyone is at a gate. You have ten minutes to sign the forms and turn them in," Genma explained casually, ignoring any questions. Other Jonin filled in and passed out the papers, while Genma walked over to a large curtained desk.

Hinata turned to Sakura and Uzuki nervously, and asked, "Why do you think they're covering the desks?"

"Probably to keep people from seeing who gets what scroll," Uzuki explained with a firm set frown.

"We are still going through with this, right? I mean, we could _die_," Sakura pointed out, mainly towards Uzuki than Hinata.

"It is you and Naru's decision, Shinobu," Uzuki said, shaking her head. "I'm just here to protect you two."

"I think we should go for it," Hinata decided, taking a sidelong glance at Tenten, and from the corner of her eye, Naruto. Tenten caught her eye and nearly waved, but managed to pretend that she didn't see her. They were, after all, supposed to act as separate teams, and even hardly comrades.

"Okay…" Sakura said, not quite as convincingly as Hinata had.

Hinata signed her form with a flourish, almost excited, even though the thought of death made her shudder. Sakura was still uncertain, but was definitely signing it. Uzuki seemed indifferent either way. Uzuki decided she'd be the one to get and carry the scroll, since she looked the least capable, but really was the most capable. So, after turning in their forms, Uzuki took the Earth scroll and put it in her side bag, underneath and mixed in with the other scrolls.

The gate they entered was next to the gate where Naruto's team was. Hinata found that she couldn't stop staring at him, as he yelled loudly to his protesting partners. A boy who wore a jacket with an extremely furry hood and a almost completely white dog were barking at him, while a black haired guy (a guy that Hinata noticed Sakura taking special notice in) made snide comments about the both of them. Their team leader, like most others', was gone—at this point, all the teams were pretty much on their own.

They prepared themselves mentally for going inside the forest. When the Jonin beside the gates yelled at them to get ready and opened the gates, Sakura felt like she'd have a heart attack. Hinata immediately began running, Uzuki close behind, with Sakura even further in tow.

They dashed through the forest, when Uzuki poked Hinata in the ribs. "Let's go this way," she said, motioning to her right, the direction Naruto and his team had started in.

"Wh-why?" Hinata asked, angry with herself for giving away emotion by stuttering.

"Because, they've got two loudmouths and a guy that can't seem to cooperate with the rest of his group," Uzuki explained calmly, not missing the stutter.

"I'm against it," Sakura said, at the same time that Hinata said so.

"Why?" Uzuki half-growled, annoyed that they were protesting. Teens and their hormones…

"Because, the silent guy is probably extremely strong," Sakura explained.

"And the loudmouths are probably pretending to be bad ninja. Otherwise, they wouldn't have gotten this far," Hinata explained.

They didn't have time to continue arguing, for the group Uzuki was talking of ambushing threw themselves through the bushes and ambushed them.

"_See_?" Uzuki demanded. "_They_ have the upper hand now!"

"Ch, as if you could take us on, even with the upper hand," the dog boy snarled.

"You're just a bunch of girls—how could you possibly dream of winning?" the dark-haired boy asked with a small smirk, knowing that he was pushing very good buttons to push on a kunoichi. Naruto remained silent.

"Seems like we have no choice," Hinata muttered to Sakura. Sakura nodded and prepared herself for battle.

The three boys all did different things all at once, none of them coinciding with the others' moves. The dark-haired boy began a Fireball no Jutsu, the dog boy transformed his dog into some sort of red beast with a pill, and Naruto made many Kage Bunshin.

"Dodge!" Uzuki commanded in reference to the fireball. "Now, use taijutsu!" she yelled after the threat of the fireball was overcome. The three girls began, in fluid motions, to knock out the clones, helping each other by destroying the clones that were attacking their teammates' blind spots and by taking out a fair few on their own. When the dog boy and the dog lunged forward together, showing the only signs of any teamwork on that team, the three girls eagerly took them on.

Uzuki held off the dog boy, while still dodging fireballs and parrying newly made clones, while Sakura did the same for his dog. While they did this, Hinata stood behind them, constructing a jutsu to contain the dog and dog boy, for they were the biggest threat at the moment. Taking on two strong people without teamwork was less dangerous than taking on a person and a dog with immaculate teamwork, after all.

'_Rat, horse, dog, boar, horse, dog, boar, bird,'_ Hinata silently recited inside her head. "Earth Prison no Jutsu!" she cried out, imprisoning both the dog boy and the dog in a cage of earth. She knew that it would incapacitate two people out of four all at once, meaning half of them were out, but she, a third of the group, was also out while she had to keep the jutsu active. Knowing this weakness, Sakura quickly moved forward and used her accurate chakra precision to hit the nerve on the side of people's necks that knocked them out on The dog boy, and she used precious little of a knockout gas on The dog while Uzuki had to (barely) hold off The dark-haired boy and Naruto's clones.

As soon as they were both knocked out, Hinata released the now futile jutsu and turned her attention on both Naruto and The dark-haired boy. Sakura began to hold off Naruto, while Uzuki concentrated solely on the dark-haired boy. Hinata was beginning yet another Earth Prison no Jutsu, when the dark-haired boy glanced at Naruto. Naruto nodded and jumped into the air, releasing a massive amount of Kage Bunshin. All of them took all of their cloned kunai and shuriken, and launched it at the girls. The dark-haired boy stood behind the now airborne Naruto and cast a fire jutsu at the weapons, finally showing some signs of teamwork apart from the dog boy and the dog.

Hinata cursed inside her head and completely dropped the earth prison jutsu, even though it was a waste of valuable chakra. She put the chakra into a quick earth wall jutsu, combing the ox and tiger seals in a slapdash way in order to protect her teammates. This gave them a few seconds in which they could not see their opponents. Sakura made a quick Henge jutsu, though they weren't solid as Naruto's were, and were simply made to confuse the two boys; she then prepared herself to make a barrier that would prevent the boys' attack. Hinata began to start an Earth Dragon Missile jutsu, and waited for the wall to completely crumble before she released it. Uzuki turned into a Sakura clone and prepared to fight physically.

When the wall crumbled, the two boys flew forward, attacks of their own ready. The dark-haired boy had a Grand Fireball jutsu, which was easily deflected by Sakura's water wall (she had been expecting fire, somehow), and even blocked yet another rain of kunai and shuriken from Naruto. In one vast motion, Sakura disabled the wall and Hinata released the Earth Dragon Missile. It destroyed all of Naruto's clones, and even managed to hit the real Naruto. The dark-haired boy dodged it, and, to Hinata, Uzuki, and Sakura's shock, avoided going anywhere near Uzuki. Upon closer inspection, they noticed that the dark-haired boy's eyes had turned red.

They were now fighting the dark-haired boy alone, for Naruto was still attempting to catch the breath that the Earth Missile knocked out of him. Since he was disabled, Sakura picked that moment to throw the remaining gas at Naruto, who immediately fell to the ground, unable either dodge or block the attack.

The dark-haired boy was standing alone, and the girls knew they had him.

The dark-haired boy began to frantically fight them using pure taijutsu. This was Sakura's weak point, and he was able to pretty much knock her from the fight quickly. He was now primarily fighting Uzuki, since Hinata was standing behind the pair. Hinata didn't even have her hands raised for a jutsu, and Sakura seemed perfectly content waiting as well. Uzuki was amazing at taijutsu, but the dark-haired boy was able to read her moves all too easily.

When Hinata noticed the eye jutsu he was using, she was able to identify it as the Sharingan. After racking her brain, she recalled her father mentioning a few things about the Uchiha clan.

'_It's terrible when a clan member kills an entire clan… But, thankfully, it was the Uchiha…" her father had mentioned to a Branch member. Hinata was a little girl at the time, only about five, and Neji seven. Of course, she couldn't ask Hizashi herself, so in her stead, Neji went._

"_Chichi-ue, why is it beneficial for the Uchiha to be wiped out?"  
_

"_Because, Neji-kun, they are our biggest rivals. They have the Sharingan, a primitive form of the Byakugan, but useful for different areas. They aren't completely wiped out, though—Uchiha Itachi and Sasuke are still alive. It is rumored that the elder Uchiha brother is in the Akatsuki, while the younger is still alive…"_

"Sasuke!" Hinata cried out, throwing Sasuke's concentration off. He was shocked that a girl from a different village would know his name, and he had never mentioned his name to her—or anyone.

Uzuki used this moment to deliver a hard kick to Sasuke's right temple. His head felt as if it was splitting open, and while he doubled over in pain, Uzuki flew forward and hit the base of his neck, knocking him out completely.

They searched through all of the teammates, and Hinata finally found the scroll in Naruto's bag.

"Shit," Uzuki cussed.

The group of boys had the Earth scroll.

----

The girls set up camp, wondering what to do with the unconscious boys. Hinata and Sakura both agreed they shouldn't leave them out in the open like that, and Uzuki reluctantly agreed. Most of the Genin in this test seemed oddly bloodthirsty, and leaving three bodies in the middle of the forest, even when they obviously didn't have a scroll, was extremely dangerous, to people and animals alike.

So, they had dragged the bodies by the fire, awaiting them to wake up. Sasuke, since he was the only one who didn't get knocked out with the gas, woke up first, and with a splitting headache. He automatically got into fighting position, ready to attack and mortally wound the girls.

"These two idiots thought it would be wrong to just leave you and your friends in the middle of a murderer-infested forest. Sit," Uzuki commanded, motioning to the spot in between her and Sakura.

"What did you do with our scroll?" he mumbled, making no move to get any closer to them, or the nice, warm fire…

"Nothing. We didn't even use it as kindling. No matter what I tell them, they think you can have it back. And majority wins," she muttered, glaring down at the fire.

"I… see," Sasuke was still cautious, but why in the world would they leave them alive while sleeping if they wanted them dead, and why else would they keep their scroll. "You must have an Earth scroll as well," he commented while sitting by the fire.

"Fish?" Sakura offered, handing him the best-looking fish from the fire.

Sasuke took it reluctantly, even going to the lengths of using Sharingan.

"There's nothing wrong with it," Hinata commented, shocking Sasuke slightly. The girl had been quiet the entire time.

"Wait! How did you know my name?" Sasuke asked suspiciously.

"Because you used the Sharingan, and your brother is not of your village anymore," Hinata explained dully, hoping that if she didn't put any sympathy, he wouldn't feel sad or angry.

At this moment, Kiba awoke, and began to sniff the fish frantically. Seconds after he awoke, Akamaru did. "Yahoo!" he cried out, jumping up and sitting down in between Sasuke and Uzuki. He almost reached out for two fish (one for him and one for Akamaru) when Sasuke nudged him in the side, reminding him of manners.

Hinata smiled, liking him (but not the way she likes Naruto) already. She leaned forward, being sure to grab two fish of equal size, for she had a feeling Kiba was dead-set on being treated equally with Akamaru, as most ninken users were. She passed them to Kiba, who nearly bit into it immediately, but instead was sure to sniff it before deciding that, yes, it was fine. He passed one to Akamaru and bit into the other one, surprised with how good it was. After seeing Kiba bite into it, Sasuke decided that it was safe as well.

"Why are you so trusting?" Uzuki asked Kiba curiously.

"Oh, me? I've been awake since before Sasuke," he admitted with a small wave. "My name is Kiba, by the way, and this is Akamaru," he said, introducing his dog as well.

"Ah," Uzuki replied simply, feeling extremely stupid for not having noticed. "I'm Mitsune, this is Shinobu"—point a finger at Sakura—"and this is Naru"—pointing at Hinata.

Sasuke growled in annoyance, mad that he hadn't thought of pretending to sleep. "Sasuke Uchiha, as you already seem to know," he introduced himself.

"Naruto seems to still be asleep…" Hinata commented.

Everyone else froze. Sasuke thought back hard on the conversation, and realized that, no, he had never mentioned that the hyperactive blonde's name was Naruto.

"I heart him yell it at the first test," Hinata explained, coming up with an excuse as best as she could. Sasuke bought it with a nod, though now his suspicion of the girls was starting to rise again. Why pay that much attention, especially to someone that seems like they wouldn't even pass the first exam to start with.

Naruto slowly stirred, awakening and staring at the group of people sitting around the fire. He finally stood up and silently sat in between Kiba and Sasuke, feeling very out of place. "What's going on?" he finally asked. Sasuke gave him a brief synopsis of what had happened, and Naruto sighed before helping himself to a piece of fish, not waiting for Hinata nor any of the other girls to serve him. Uzuki growled lightly in annoyance at his lack of manners, for she was very strict that the girls act with manners as if they were ladies.

"So, what do we do now?" Naruto asked as he tossed the stick the fish was on into the fire, watching it burn.

"Technically speaking, we are still enemies," Uzuki hinted at Sakura and Hinata, who sullenly nodded, knowing that they were.

"Mitsune is right. We are enemies, and we should start acting like it," Sasuke said to Kiba and Naruto.

"So, should we stay here or leave now?" Naruto asked slowly.

"I think, after Sasuke's comment, we'd all sleep better if you left," Uzuki explained.

The boys nodded and turned to leave, gathering up their things slowly, not really wanting to leave. Before they left, Naruto turned to the girls.

"Hey, hey! After this, we won't be enemies! We'll be friends then, right?" Naruto asked with a bright smile.

Uzuki remained silent, while Sakura and Hinata smiled at him brightly, Hinata concealing a blush. "'Course," they replied matter-of-factly, as if it was obvious.

He then turned to Uzuki and said, "Neh, neh—good luck with getting the stick out of your rear end. That's something both you and Sasuke need to work on!" Before Uzuki could react to his comment, he had disappeared in a flurry of movement, evaporating before them, never to show up until the end of the exam.


	9. Chapter 9

**In A Time Where Kunoichi Didn't Exist**

Kankuro was worried. Gaara was in one of his 'moods', and it was obvious that it would be a good long time before they could get him out of it. Currently, Temari was keeping an eye on the Buds, the 'retarded Konoha girls who wanted to play ninja', as Baki put them. As soon as he had said this, Temari nearly choked him to death, but it was quite true. In fact, in Kankuro's opinion, for the most part, most of the Konoha nin were just playing ninja. He was anxiously awaiting Temari's return, which, at the moment, seemed as if it would take forever.

----

When the boys finally left, before they had a chance to get to sleep, Temari jumped out of the tree, shocking all of the girls immensely.

"T-Temari-san!" Hinata cried out first, before any of the others had a chance to say anything.

Temari completely ignored her comment and turned to Uzuki. "Mitsune! You let the boys get away? without even destroying the scroll? are you mad? or are you just unfit to be the leader of this team?" Temari demanded, leaning forward with her hands on her hops.

Uzuki glared defiantly at the younger girl, who was many years her junior. "Tsunade-sama's orders were to let them make all the decisions. I did what she asked. These girls need to learn how t make real decisions in real situations, otherwise they'll never survive when they're let out into the wild on their own," Uzuki said coldly, somehow managing to keep her voice at a constant, low, and decent level.

"Ch. This will, more than likely, be the first and last 'real' experience these girls have, and will ever have," Temari threw back, smirking at the reaction it got form the entire group.

"Hey! We know it's not quite possible just yet, but hell, we're working on it!" Sakura shouted at Temari.

"You idiot… Stop yelling! We just might be located and ambushed if you keep that up!" Temari yelled.

"_Too late…" _a voice hissed from the treetops. Hinata, Sakura, and Uzuki automatically backed up, their backs pressed against each other's backs, awaiting the arrival of their enemy.

"Whoever the hell it is, I'll take you on single-handedly," Temari said with a smirk. The three girls looked at her, as if she was completely crazy. She, as if feeling their gazes, turned her head back to the three of them, and said, "I'll show you the power of an individual. Had you three fought those boys separately, you all would have failed, miserably, even when you were just fighting one of them," she said matter-of-factly, staring at the trees and readying her fan as three more boys came down from ropes.

"Relinquish your scrolls to us…" the main man hissed, his voice coarse.

"What makes you think I'd ever relinquish my scroll to someone like you?" Temari asked, her tone clearly saying she thought they were the biggest dumbasses in the world. And, to her, they were.

"Ch. As if a bunch of powder-puffs could take us on," a boy beside the guy in the front said unbelievingly.

"I'll bet that this one powder-puff will be more than enough to take you on," Temari growled.

She turned to the other girls. "Now, usually, I start things off a little lighter—but I think I should hurry it up," she said with a comforting (for they were on her side) yet oh-so-scary smirk. She unfolded her fan, revealing seven circles, and watched as the men landed on the ground.

"You three are most definitely unlucky," Temari said before yelling out a resounding, "Daikamaitachi no Jutsu!" she cried out, flinging the fan in a great arc in front of the arc. She was sparing no expense in trying to knock them out fast, and before the three knew it, they were thrown upwards into the trees, all of them eventually hitting thick branches. They crossed their arms in front of their chests futilely as they felt themselves being handled like rag dolls.

"That is the power of the individual. None of you… even if you tried… could summon up something like that," Temari said, taking deep breaths in between phrases.

"Temari-san, is it really wise to use so much chakra up…?" Sakura asked slowly.

"Well, not for you guys. But, hey, my brothers will be taking all the fun, and I'll have many days to recover," she said, putting on a haughty smirk, acting as if nothing at all had happened. She jumped into the trees, headed in the way her brothers were, not even bothering to look at the defeated group's scroll.

"If she wanted to help us, she could have just said so," Uzuki muttered as she walked up to the body of the leader and began searching his person. Hinata and Sakura followed suit, searching the pockets and bags of the others.

"Got it!" Hinata yelled out happily, pulling out a Heaven scroll.

"Forth we go onwards to the middle, then," Uzuki said.

"B-but Mitsune-san! We haven't even rested yet, and besides, who knows who'll be hiding…" Sakura began to protest.

"And… ano, if I may… I think I understand… Who knows who will search our camp while we're sleeping, correct?" Hinata asked reluctantly.

"Precisely," Uzuki said with a wink, giving the girl a thumbs-up. "Pack up, girls, and take some solider pills—we're pulling an all-nighter," Uzuki commanded. The two girls nodded in unison, before packing all their things (which really weren't that much, for none of them were expecting a survival test) and headed out to go.

----

As the trio sped through the forest, all of them keeping an eye out for any possible opponents—Hinata even had the Byakugan activated, but she had to be extremely careful—they were all thinking the same thing, despite the fact they really should have been concentrating on getting to the center of the forest. They were all thinking of Temari, wondering why she would help us. Uzuki had told them earlier on not to speak a word, and to just stay silent, for otherwise, they would be more easily spotted and ambushed.

They were surprised, yet extremely paranoid, that they were in seeing distance of the tower in very little time in comparison to the distance—the sky was just barely beginning to show signs of daytime starting. Uzuki leaned closer to Hinata and whispered, "I know, by now, that you're chakra exhausted and you have a massive headache—just do a quick scope, and then you can turn that thing off."

Hinata nodded and glanced from side-to-side, making sure there were no enemies in the general area. She tried to strengthen the Byakugan, in order to see further than the tower, but she found that she couldn't, and she could feel her vision going blurry. She wobbled suddenly, dizzy from chakra exhaustion. At this moment, the Byakugan automatically turned off, and Sakura quickly steadied her.

Uzuki silently took the last soldier's pill from the pack and slipped it into Hinata's mouth, helping her to chew it by moving her jaw up and down on the tiny pill.

"Anybody?" Uzuki asked gently, knowing that Hinata was probably in a lot of pain.

Hinata silently shook her head, and Uzuki nodded. "Do you think you can check further?"

Hinata once again shook her head. The soldier's pill wasn't giving her all of her chakra back—she had enough to do a few jutsus, but not the Byakugan for a good, long time. Uzuki nodded, still taciturn, and looked toward the tower. "We don't have much to go… We might get lucky and make it without meeting an opponent… But we'll have to give it our all, and rest at the tower. It's one of our only chances of survival," Uzuki concluded.

"Hai, Mitsune-san," Sakura said with a nod, yawning accidentally in the progress. Mitsune sighed. "We have five soldier's left… Shinobu and I shall take one, and Naru…" she sighed here. She turned to Sakura, and asked, "Do you think we should give her another soldier's pill?"

Sakura thought it over, and asked, "Do you think we could fight with little participation from Naru?" Sakura asked honestly.

"True… Here, Naru. Take this pill in the event we get into a…" Uzuki began as she handed the pill. A voice from above cut her off, however.

"Lucky," the deep voice said, obviously excited.

"Yes… A group of girls… Very lucky…" the second one said. The third one, in a blur of what appeared to be moving black goop, snuck behind Uzuki and quickly took the back with the soldier's pills.

"Lucky!" the voice taunted with a sinister laugh before disappearing and reappearing in the threes.

"Now, young women, give us your scrolls, or face an unlucky fate…" the original one commanded.

"Ch. Do you really think you'd be that lucky?" Uzuki asked with a smirk.

"Tsk, tsk… Bluffing always leads to an unlucky fate…" the second one reprimanded.

'_Oh, no… I'm the only one with a soldier's pill!' _Hinata's mind screamed at her. _'Shinobu and Mitsune-sensei haven't yet had one, and…' _Hinata was practically panicking.

"Naru! Do you know any fire jutsu?" she asked, rather quickly. Even as she asked it, the three of them formed into hundreds of clones, while Hinata racked her mind to try and remember if she had ever learned any fire jutsu.

'_Truth be told, I've never tried… Few people can use fire in Konoha, and they mainly died out with the near extinction of the Uchiha clan… Wait! Maybe I can try copying that boy… But I wasn't really concentrating on his movements… What were the seals he used?'_ She winced her eyes closed in concentration, and found she couldn't see the ones for the regular fireball, but only the ones from the grand fireball no jutsu.

'_Snake, Tiger, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger,' _she said to herself, mainly to confirm that she was doing the seals the jutsu required. She then imitated Sasuke's movements, still unsure if she'd even build up the power right or not. She leaned back, inhaling deeply, put her fingers together in an "o" around her mouth. She was shocked to find that yes, she could breathe out fire, but was disappointed to find her "Grand" fireball was more like Sasuke's regular.

However, while Uzuki and Sakura held off the clones from Hinata so she could finish her jutsu, she did what Uzuki had planned. The bodies the three Rain nin were using were made of oil, which made it harder to hit than water, lasted longer, but still moved the same speed.

The bodies caught on fire, and the three of them were caught in the middle of it. Hinata quickly took the pill, for she could feel her strength leaving her, and she quickly formed a water barrier to keep the three of them from the flames. "What should we do now, Mitsune?" Sakura asked, turning to Uzuki. The echoing of screams was booming around them, tormented by the flames. The oil bodies were all flaming, and the group of girls was still unable to tell the difference between the real bodies and the fake ones. The fire was growing so that the trees and shrubbery was catching on fire as well, and it was spreading quickly, for in a forest with oil inside, it has more than enough kindling to start a massive fire.

"… We have no pills, and… the fire jutsu worked too well. The three of them may die…" Uzuki whispered.

Hinata froze, shocked. She had killed three lives at once with one jutsu? She… had actually killed and committed a sin. Sakura turned to Hinata worriedly and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry about that, yet," Uzuki said firmly. "Let's just get to the tower before we all drop dead!" she exclaimed, forcing Hinata to start moving. The barrier, as long as Hinata continued to hold down the last seal (rabbit), would stay around Hinata and from 3 yards around her, so it was possible for her to move. She held the jutsu up until they got to the tower door, and even held it while Uzuki opened the doors closest to them.

They walked in and glanced around the empty room. There were two walkways above them, one to the left and one to the right. In front of them was a board with words in kanji written. Sakura walked forward and began to read.

"Without Heaven… Hey! There… there are missing words!" she pointed out. Uzuki nodded in response.

"Perhaps we should open the scrolls?" Hinata suggested gently. Uzuki passed the Heaven scroll to Hinata, and the Earth scroll to Sakura.

Hinata and Sakura, at the same instant, tore open the scrolls. "What's this…? Hito jin?" Sakura asked slowly. Something in Hinata's mind, from her jutsu classes, clicked when Sakura said it out loud.

"Put it down! Quickly!" Hinata ordered Sakura as she put hers onto the ground. Sakura quickly complied and backed up, expecting it to explode.

Suddenly, a man appeared on top of the scrolls. "Yo," he greeted casually, staring at the three of them. "The… third team to pass is one of all girls, eh?" he asked with a smirk. "Seems like I owe Kakashi a bit of money…" he said with a small scoff. "Wait," he paused and stared at the three of them, noting the burn around Hinata's fingers and the door they came out of. "Don't tell me _you're_ the one who…" he began, but was cut off by Uzuki.

"Are you here to tell us what's going on, or to be amazed by our great prowess?" Uzuki asked testily.

"Right, right," the man said, waving his hands in front of his face. He coughed, as if to clear his throat, and stood straight up, giving the three girls a salute. "Congratulations on passing the exam, ma'am! I am shocked and stunned to find that you girls are strong enough to pass, ma'am! Maybe Konoha needs to change its laws!" he said, as if he was a drill sergeant in a strict army. Sakura and Hinata giggled, but Uzuki continued to stare hard.

"You want serious? Fine," he agreed, and turned to the message. "These scrolls represent what all ninja need to complete missions safely. 'Heaven' represents the mind, and 'Earth' represents strength and stamina. The Chuunin motto is 'If you lack Heaven, seek wisdom, be prepared, gain knowledge, and prepare yourself for missions. If you lack Earth, run in the fields, seek advantages. These rules will guide a person's extremes.' The missing kanji for 'person' comes from the summoning scroll," the man added on as an afterthought.

Hinata and Sakura glanced at each other and back at Uzuki. They weren't quite sure which they were lacking, but they weren't about to ask.

"If you guys need to know, you lack Heaven," Uzuki said with a smirk. "Now, what would have happened had we opened the scrolls earlier on?" Uzuki asked curiously.

"I would have put you three to sleep until the end," he replied simply with a smirk.

"So, what now?" Sakura asked the man.

"Nothing. Just keep the motto in your head, and you three will be released at the end of the exam. Oh… and the fire has been doused, but the three men have already been burnt to death," he said, before leaving in a puff of smoke.

Hinata looked down, mad at herself for having forgotten about the Rain nin after the Chuunin had appeared. "Rest. We have many days to rest, and at this point, we can definitely let our guard down," Uzuki said sweetly to Hinata and Sakura, giving them the first soft smile they had ever given them. All they ever saw were haughty smirks, shadows of smiles hidden behind the maliciousness that was really being planned. She actually seemed somewhat maternal at that moment, and so, Hinata and Sakura nodded quietly and laid on the ground, soon falling into a deep sleep.

----

Hinata wasn't sure how long she slept, nor of anything else around her except her location. She was being taunted, tormented by nightmares of the three Rain nin. Even though she only fought them, she could still hear their screaming and see the flames that engulfed the trees so easily. She woke with a start, still extremely tired, but in a cold sweat. Hinata glanced around the room, simply to see if anyone was awake. She was shocked to see a fire, burning brightly in the middle of the room, and Hinata immediately found herself thinking of images of the Rain nin.

"Naru," Uzuki called, automatically noting that Hinata was awake. "I have something to help you sleep dreamlessly," she explained, holding up a small vial of a potion up. She sat it on the ground beside her, a mere foot away from the fire. "But you have to get it," Uzuki explained, watching her.

It amazed Hinata how Uzuki knew that that was what had been scaring her—the flames, the memories of the screams, her dreams… all of it. Sakura laid asleep, deep in a slumber that was apparently slightly demented, but nothing serious. Sakura, after all, hadn't truly killed.

"Come on. You can either try sleeping with those nightmares, or you can overcome your fear of fire. Which one?" Uzuki asked, her glare serious. Hinata got up shakily onto two feet and walked over to the potion, trying her best to ignore the fire and its flames. She collapsed a few feet away from the potion, transfixed by the horror of the fire.

"It's okay, Hinata," Uzuki said softly, as if coaxing Hinata to her by using her real name. "It's okay. You'll get over it. We all do. Sakura will get over her first kill. So will all the others. You just have the trouble of being the first in your group to go through it, so you don't have anyone your own age to understand you. You'll eventually come to live with yourself. I promise," Uzuki said, giving Hinata the same soft, caring smile from earlier. This, and the combination of the sweetly spoken words and the use of her real name more than anything, caused Hinata to have the strength to stand up, walk the last few feet, drink the potion, and stare into the fire as she fell asleep.

'_Forgive myself…'_ she thought dreamily as she fell into a deep sleep, this one unaffected by her memories of that night. After she was sure Hinata was asleep Uzuki doused the fire and laid down as well, prepared to go to sleep.

----

"Eh, so it was Naru who made that huge fire?" Kankuro asked, shocked.

Temari nodded in confirmation, a smirk present on her face. _'Maybe… just maybe she might be something great,' _Temari thought to herself.

----

"So, it appears that a girl, originating from Suna named Naru had started the fire," Kabuto reported to Orochimaru. "Not Sasuke," he said as an afterthought.

"Hmm… Perhaps this girl is worth looking into as well, if she can get over her first kill," Orochimaru hissed sadistically, a creepy smile on his face.

**A/N: And so it's been decided that Orochimaru will still be a part of the plot. Hehe, and of course, I had to make Hinata stand out a little bit more from the others. **

**P.S. I'm not sure if the Rain nin's clones were made of oil or not, but it sure looked like it to me. Review, please!**


	10. Chapter 10

**In A Time Where Kunoichi Didn't Exist**

The next days passed by slowly, for there was no longer anything to do. They weren't allowed to see the other ninja, and they were practically, compared to outside, were hand-fed fully cooked meals. Hinata's silence was making Sakura worried, especially because at night, up until the first time she woke up, she'd be screaming.

However, early on, Uzuki broke Hinata's fear of fire. Every time Hinata wanted to get a dreamless sleeping potion, she'd have to go right by the fire to get it. After a few times of making her go near the fire, she even had the courage to have her make the fire.

"You made the right decision, you know," Sakura began after sitting next to Hinata in silence for nearly ten minutes. Hinata continued staring forward, giving no sign that she was even listening to what Sakura was saying. Sakura sighed, and decided to take another approach. "I wish I could pretend to know what you're going through, but… I can't really comprehend the thought of someone dying because of me. Really, I should get used to the idea, because when I do screw up, I'll probably kill someone I'm actually trying to help.

"But, anyways… Thanks. I know that it is tough for you right now, and well… If you hadn't, me and Uzuki would have probably…" Sakura trailed off at the end. "Besides, isn't that what the life of a ninja is about? Killing before you're killed?" Sakura finished with a small frown, staring at the fire in front of the two.

'_People **die** as shinobi! You know the story "Legend of the Kunoichi"? Well, that's what it's really like! As a shinobi, you are going to lose your precious people, unless you're strong enough to stop that from happening! And, if you choose the path of the shinobi, you've already chosen your death—death in battle, possibly for something that doesn't even matter to you! Is that what you want?'_ the words of her cousin flowed through her mind, a distant memory from her first excursion as a young child. She wondered briefly if Neji really believed she was dead, and if he still thought about her. She decided that, yes, even after killing those three ninja (though she still heavily regretted it), she could honestly say she wouldn't want to be anything other than a ninja.

"Arigatou," Hinata said weakly from her spot in front of the fire as Sakura walked away. Sakura paused, happy and shocked that she had talked, and smiled.

"Any time," she replied before continuing to walk away.

That night, she was still plagued with the dreams of the men, but this time, Naruto was in her dreams as well, and she wasn't screaming.

----

"Repeat that," Gaara said with a dark glare.

Temari sighed, near the end of giving her word-by-word account of what had happened when she surveyed the other kunoichi. "I left the other three nin behind and allowed them to get whatever scroll they had," Temari repeated with a sigh.

"Why?" Gaara asked, and Temari knew she was testing his patience.

"Because having an easy third exam couldn't hurt, and it especially couldn't hurt if all the sand ninja make it," Temari explained with a sigh.

"Did you forget about the plan?" Kankuro jumped in, though he honestly had no place in the conversation.

"No, I didn't. Besides, if we're beside the Konoha kunoichi, wouldn't it be easier to enlist their help?" Temari asked with a small smirk.

----

Soon, the second exam was finished. A Chuunin came into the room where Uzuki, Hinata and Sakura were staying to inform them that they would need to pack their things—which, once again, were not that much—and be prepared to be briefed about the next part of the exams by the Hokage. They all quickly packed, and even Hinata seemed somewhat excited.

They filed out of the room, falling into place in the line. Hinata and Sakura couldn't help but look around to see who else had passed, and they were shocked to find that the maximum teams had passed. From the looks of it, Tenten's team had passed, along with Naruto's, Neji's, Temari's (of course), two more Konoha teams (which Hinata could not place) and another team that was from the Sound.

The Hokage stood in front of them and congratulated them all on passing the first two exams, and then let a sickly-looking man explain the next part. He said his name was Hayate, and that he'd be the referee for the third exam preliminaries. Hinata wasn't so sure, but she thought she could see a subtle look of love in Uzuki's eyes when she first saw the man.

"So, after those who wish to forfeit give up, we will have you fight against another random person. After the fight, whoever wins goes onto the next round. So, any questions?" he paused and waited, and when he was certain there were none, he asked, "Any forfeits?"

To Sakura, Hinata, Ino, and Tenten's shock, Uzuki and Shizune also raised their hands. With a nod of his head and a scratch on his board, Hayate checked them off and pointed them to the door. ()

The three walked off without a word to anybody, other than the silver-haired man exchanging a brief word with one of his teammates.

----

The first match was between Sasuke and Yoroi Akado, a Konoha shinobi. Hinata didn't notice it before, but Sasuke was breathing heavily and every once in a while, rubbed his neck. Something must have poisoned him, or he must have nearly lost a fight in the second exam. What it could possibly be, however, Hinata had no clue. It looked like nothing she had ever seen before. She could just briefly catch a glimpse of a black blob, but she couldn't make out its shape. She desperately wanted to use the Byakugan to find out what it was, but she knew that was a risk she could not afford to take, especially not in front of another Hyuuga or the Hokage.

Sasuke won his match, though right after, medic nin rushed away with him. Hinata was a little concerned, but her care was nowhere near the anxiety that Sakura showed.

After his match, Shino Aburame—someone from the same year as Naruto, but on a different team entirely—fought one of the Sound nin, by the name of Zaku. His technique and strategizing abilities were amazing, and he won with little trouble, though his opponent was handicapped with two broken arms.

The third match was between Kankuro and another Konoha nin called Misumi Tsurugi. Kankuro's match was just as terrifying as Shino Aburame's had been—they both used something to their advantage no one expected, and they both won with ease.

The fourth match was one that Hinata was extremely interested in—to say the least. It was between Sakura and Ino.

----

The two girls face each other in the middle of the arena, and Hinata found herself extremely anxious about this fight. Whenever the two girls fought before, Tsunade or someone else could always stop them at any time. They would, of course, be stopped from killing each other, but they wouldn't be stopped from mortally wounding each other.

"Begin," Hayate said, waving his arm in a downward motion in between the two girls. Much to the annoyance of the other ninja, they stood staring at each other for a full minute, not saying a word, not even moving—apparently having a staring contest, in fact—in the middle of the ring. A few people looked ready to throw rotten vegetables—or rather, kunai—at the pair.

"I'll prove to you today that my path is better," Sakura began, staring right at Ino. "But first thing is first," she added with a small smirk. She took the headband, which she had the habit of wearing as a headband, and tied it around her forehead. "You, too. I'll wait."

"_Ch! The day we really fight is the day I'll wear my forehead seriously!" Sakura yelled angrily at Ino, who in return, simply stuck her tongue out._

Ino smirked back and nodded, and took the headband from out of her belt loop. She tied it around her head as well, and stared at her. "Medical ninja don't have as good of attacks as genjutsu-users. You're going to lose," Ino said, her confidence never faltering a bit.

Hinata and Tenten both seemed to be visibly tensing as they saw them get into positions to fight. Hayate sighed, and nearly yelled at the two girls to get on with it. Hinata swore she could have heard a boy say, "And that's why we don't have kunoichi," but she didn't pay any attention to it, fro the fight was just beginning.

Sakura's medical chakra flared up into a needle of green light, and Ino's hands began to form seals. Sakura lunged forward, and Ino released a genjutsu. Sakura lifted her hands and dispelled it easily. She'd only get a step or so towards Ino before another genjutsu would take hold, and Sakura would let it take hold of her for only a millisecond.

"This isn't going to work," they agreed simultaneously, both panting for breath.

Sakura lunged forward, without her medical chakra activated, and instead of forming a genjutsu, Ino blocked the hit. In a flurry of movement, the two girls fought with taijutsu, both apparently equally good at it. One would punch, the other would block, then punch, only to be blocked by the other. Then, one would attempt a kick, only to be grabbed, and for them to kick, only to be grabbed. They'd let go of each other, back up a foot or so, and then try again.

This cycle seemed almost endless.

Hinata could tell that both of them were trying to find a way to stop the fight, desperately. Hinata was wondering why Sakura didn't initiate the medical chakra, for there was no way that Ino could form the seals to come up with a genjutsu in close combat.

As soon as Hinata thought it, Sakura did it, as if reading her mind. She cocked her fist back, and, while it was behind her back, formed medical chakra. At the same instant, as if Ino had been reading Sakura's moves, Ino whipped out a kunai with her left hand and blocked the medical chakra.

They were pressing the blades against each other, the chakra blade against metal. "You know… we're equally matched," Ino said through clenched teeth.

"One of us will come out on top, sooner or later," Sakura said, through equally gritted teeth. They finally both jumped backwards and faced each other. Ino took out three shuriken and two more kunai in a swift motion, and lunged them forward at Sakura. Sakura did the same, except she deflected one of the kunai with the chakra blade as opposed to a kunai thrown just as that one was. Ino managed to duck underneath it, and the instance that she did, Sakura was right on top of her with a slashing attack.

Ino jumped back, but still was just barely scratched across her cheek. She wiped the blood away quickly before taking out a kunai, and then, once again, she and Sakura flew into a battle of the blades.

After a few hits, Sakura's chakra blade began to falter and at the same moment, the kunai—the last one Ino had—fell out of her hands. Sakura had used all of her weapons earlier, so now they were both only armed with their fists and chakra.

They began to punch at each other again, and at one instant, they both threw a punch, both aimed for the other's face. They each caught each other's punch, and then, using their other fist, punched the other in the cheek.

The two bodies lay on the ground, limp and knocked out. "Tie," Hayate decided. "Neither pass."

Hinata watched with a soft smile as the two of them were carried into the medical room, side-by-side on stretchers. They served a sort of symbolic relationship—two friends on different tracks of life, both trying desperately to prove their way was best, when in reality, they were very much equal.

----

"Next fight—Temari and Midori," Hayate announced, and the two girls walked up to the middle of the ring. They faced each other and, after Hayate said to start, it was basically a massacre. Hinata somehow had a bad feeling from the beginning that the two of them would face off like that, but when she actually saw how badly Tenten was being pulverized, she couldn't help but wince and worry for her friend.

With a flip of her fan, Tenten's body flew upwards. It was obvious that she was already out cold, but Temari had the gall to stick out her now closed fan and have Tenten land on that. A sickening crack, from the force of her body hitting the fan, was heard throughout the stadium.

Suddenly, the green jumpsuit clad boy from before even the first exam, stood in front of Tenten's limp body, keeping Temari from hurting her even more. "Why would you continue to mercilessly beat upon a helpless comrade, especially when she tried her best?" he asked evenly.

"Who are you?" Temari asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Rock Lee," he replied curtly, his eyes darkening as well.

"Why would you help a girl whom you have barely met before?" Temari asked, her voice still cold.

"Temari wins this match. You two, get out of the ring, so that the next match can be held," Hayate said with a sigh to the two of them.

"Hai," Lee answered back politely, while Temari simply scoffed and headed for the stairs back up to the balcony where the viewers were watching.

"Next match… Chouji Akimichi versus Dosu Kinuta," Hayate announced

----

The match between the two boys was short-lived, comical, and the Sound nin easily defeated the over-weight Konoha shinobi. The board flashed the next names, and Hayate read them out.

"Rock Lee versus Gaara." Hinata stood, and watched intently at the first that was taking place. It was between the brother of the girl who he had stopped, and also, Gaara didn't look very… benign.

The fight that resulted was not a pretty one, and lasted seemingly forever. It had started out simply enough, but with Lee and Gaara unleashing more and more of their power, it soon turned into a tremendous battle of unthinkable strength. It amazed Hinata how strong the seemingly kindhearted boy was.

But at the end, even the amazing determination of Lee was not enough. Gaara crushed one of his arms and one of his legs, and seemed as if he was moving in for the kill when an older version of Lee got in between the two of them.

"That is enough!" he bellowed out. In a flash, the rest of the Jonin teachers were in between Gaara and Lee as well, all looking extremely angry.

"Gaara passes. You may now leave the arena," Hayate said coldly, looking as if he was ready to physically push him out of the arena.

----

The next match was between Shikamaru Nara and Kin Tsuchi, which Shikamaru won using astounding strategizing skills. In the end, Shikamaru manipulated her to hit her head—hard—on the arena's stonewall, and Hinata made a note to remember that Shikamaru's logic was indeed scary.

The match after that was between Naruto and Kiba, two teammates. Everyone was looking at this fight with interest, for it pinned two close comrades against each other. This also happened in the fight between Ino and Sakura, but that was only evident to Hinata and Tenten.

Naruto was clever—Hinata was sure of it—but whether or not he was actually smart was debatable. He ended up winning the fight by farting right in Kiba's face, the fumes being inhaled by Kiba's extremely sensitive nose causing him to lose the fight.

Hayate walked up to the middle of the arena, and coughed to get everyone's attention, for most were laughing at the fact that the last fight had been won by _farting_. Ino and Sakura had both already been revived, and both were being extremely silent.

The board flashed the next names, and Hinata, Ino, and Sakura all gasped as the names came up. It couldn't be, it just couldn't… Hinata kept telling herself, but she knew that yes, she would have to fight.

"Next match, Naru versus Neji Hyuuga," Hayate announced, confirming Hinata's worry.

She was to fight the cousin that thought she had died. She was to fight the person who used to be her most important person—whether he was or not, she did not know.

Without even thinking about it, Hinata's legs carried her to the middle of the arena. She could hear Naruto cheering for her, and though that would usually lighten her heart, nothing could help as she stared forward at Neji—Neji had an evil smirk on his face, as if he was looking forward to winning.

She had no choice _but_ to win. She got into position, as did Neji, and Hayate announced, "Begin."

**A/N: A cliffhanger. Sorry, couldn't help it—no, I really couldn't! Without that last bit, it'd be too short, and with the fight, it'd be too much…**

**Review, please!**

**P.S. And no, I didn't have Kabuto forfeit. There are two people left after Hinata and Neji's match, and they are Satoshi (OC on Neji's team) and Kabuto, whose reason for staying will be apparent after the prelims are over. **


	11. Chapter 11

**In A Time Where Kunoichi Didn't Exist**

Neji had a bad habit of provoking his opponent before they actually fought. He'd first begin by trying to figure out, along the lines, of what his opponent was thinking, he'd verbally abuse them (if he could find call to), and then he'd attack them when they were still thinking about what he said. True, this was superfluous, as he could easily win most fights, but in truth, he enjoyed inflicting emotional pain more than physical pain.

It wasn't that he had turned into a sadist since Hinata's 'death'. Oh, no, quite the contrary—forcing others to feel emotional pain, or simply to remind them of it, reminded him that he wasn't the only one who had been hurt, and, in fact, some were worse off than he was.

So, even though he had no clue that the person standing before him was really his little sister, just because she was a girl didn't make any difference to Neji. He would not go easy on someone who was a kunoichi, just because they were the 'fairer sex'. In fact, Neji thought it was rather silly to go easy on a kunoichi, for they were in the same line of work as he, and it could be lethal to underestimate anybody at any time.

"You're facing me with so little doubt in your abilities. You are about to suffer a severe wake-up call," Neji said haughtily. Hinata was startled that he had changed so quickly from a fighting stance to taunting her. _'No, he's still prepared to fight… He might be my brother, but he's jaded now from the life of a ninja… He's trying to throw me off-balance!'_ Hinata reminded herself.

"Well, Hyuuga, what else would you expect me to do? Come to this match and beg for mercy?" Hinata asked, her tone sounding foreign to even herself. She was basically copying the confident tone that Sakura and Ino had whenever they fought each other, but on herself… It just didn't seem right.

"With this Byakugan, I can see through what even a complete stranger is thinking," Neji replied coolly. Hinata was slightly worried that her words had made no impact on her, but as one of his teammates would point out, if they were still conscious, the fact that he was already using the Byakugan was proof that her comment had made some sort of impact on him.

In a quick movement of veins and his eyes, which was all too familiar to Hinata, he exclaimed, "Byakugan!" Hinata desperately wished to, herself, activate her own Byakugan, but that act would immediately give off her true identity.

But was it really bad that he knows who she really was? After all, he did used to be her most important person. He was her brother, after all. She was her brother, after all…

"The way your eyes just shifted signifies that you are contemplating something that fate has forced against you. The way they shifted downwards after that shows regret or sadness. The way your body stance softened from a full-out fighting stance to an almost normal stance shows that you are shocked that my predictions are completely correct," Neji foretold.

"Ch, it's not like you'd know anything about me," Hinata said bravely. _'Not about my present self, in the least,'_ she thought ruefully.

"Oh? Well, I know you're not as strong as you're pretending to be. You were practically shedding tears with the Midori girl was fighting Temari," Neji pointed out. Hinata's eyes grew wide in surprise, and Neji scoffed. "Yeah, I noticed. You two, even though you're not on the same team, must share a deep bond, probably close to that of sisterhood… Do I need to describe what you're thinking, or is it obvious?"

He barely got the sentence out. When he finally looked back at the girl he was, just a few seconds ago, taunting, he had to dodge out of the way of the fireball. His eyes grew wide at this, and he smirked.

"So, was it you that started that fire and killed that team of ninja?" he asked with a small smirk, as if he knew that that comment would hit harder than words.

He was right. Hinata basically froze in shock at this, still somewhat mortified at what she'd done. Neji took this opportunity to run forward, his hands covered in the chakra of the Juken (though it couldn't really be seen by the naked eye). She noticed it too late, but avoided a direct hit from Neji's actual hand. However, she had to keep in mind that the Juken chakra extended about two and a half inches away from the part of the hand that was extended the most. So, even though she dodged a direct blow, she had still sustained internal damage to her right kidney, even if it was only shallow.

She gasped out from the pain and resisted the urge to hold her side. Neji came forward almost as quickly as Hinata could blink, and Hinata was forced into the defensive, which was really not a favorable position, as Hinata was a better distance fighter than hand-to-hand combatant.

Neji noted that she had enough sense to block and push his arms away in a manner so that the chakra surrounding his arms never touched her. How she could possibly know that that was what was inflicting damage, he couldn't be sure, but maybe she was just either lucky or winging it.

"Stop fighting it. Your fate is to lose to me!" Neji growled. His hits were getting harder, and Hinata noticed in a panic that, with each hit, he was pushing her closer and closer to the wall behind her. If he got her against the wall, blocking wouldn't be a choice.

Her blocks were getting worse and worse as she panicked more and more. Neji continued taunting her, acting as if he knew every thought that went across her mind. From above the stadium, Naruto watched as the girl who was so kind to him put up an amazing fight. He was surprised that someone like her could act as cold, but it dawned on him that that was all it was—acting. He began to feel bad for her, and the fact that the girl who shared the deepest bond with her (if Neji was right) was unconscious and probably in critical condition.

Though he knew that his teammates probably wouldn't look upon it happily, Naruto leaned, almost falling off the rail, to encourage her. "Don't listen to him! He doesn't know you, and he doesn't know anything about you! Screw him!"

Hinata laughed inwardly at this, and Neji faltered for a half second, a half second Hinata cursed herself for not taking advantage of. Neji went back to verbal abuse, trying to reinstill the fear and nervousness from before.

"You know what I see when I look at you? I see a little girl who doesn't want to admit to herself that that's all she is," Neji growled as he continued the flurry of attempted punches, slaps, and hits.

"You know what I see when I look at you?" Hinata quoted, though she had no clue what to say. Then, it dawned on her, as if Naruto's words had given her a sudden thought. True, Neji didn't know about her past. But, Hinata knew about his, even if it was only a vague idea of what it could have been like.

"I see a boy who lost his younger sister, the most important person to him when he was still in Konoha's Academy. I see a boy who hides behind snide comments even though he is, inside, mourning the loss of his little sister, even after all these years," Hinata was proud of herself for not letting out any information, and even prouder that her tone was constant. However, she felt a twinge of sadness about his past, for it involved her more than it did him.

She expected his movements to slow. She expected him to lose accuracy. She didn't expect him to _freeze_. "How…?" he began, but without even thinking about it, Hinata formed a few seals. Her arms were sore, for the Juken had injured them deeply. Her side was also sore from the internal damage she suffered from the first hit, and the fight _needed_ to end quickly.

With the last seal, she cried out, "Suffocating Earth Prison no Jutsu!" A dome of earth formed around him, enclosing him tightly. Holding the last seal, she turned to Hayate. "That prison of earth will keep getting smaller and smaller until it crushes him. There is no need to suffer a causality in something such as the preliminaries needlessly, is there?" she asked quite calmly, though on the inside, she was shaking like a leaf. Hollow thumps could be heard from inside the dome, as if Neji was beating on the inside of them.

With a sigh, Hayate proclaimed, "Winner… Naru," he said, pausing to make sure that Neji wouldn't jump out of the dome at any second. As soon as the words left his mouth, Hinata let go of the seal, and the dome dissipated. Neji sat there on the ground, gasping for air, his lungs taking in sweet, sweet oxygen greedily.

"Gomen… about your sister…" Hinata said as she walked past him. Her tone finally showed how she felt—it was hollow, empty, and showed deep regret. She knew she probably wouldn't have won the fight if she hadn't basically cheated, but it had to be done.

"How… how did you know?" Neji asked as he stood from the kneeling position on the ground.

"I got the information from a reliable source," Hinata responded back automatically, knowing she couldn't say that she was his little sister and have a family reunion.

"Ah," he choked out, before allowing himself to be led away by the medic nin, who also led Hinata away to be checked upon.

----

Neji sat in the room, staring down at his hands. _'How dare she! She used that information against me… I've been extremely careful not to let that leak out into the public, and now, practically everyone will know! What kind of a bitch would use something like that against me?'_ Neji asked himself, rage and enmity towards the girl growing inside of himself.

A soft knock issued from outside the door, and Neji bade that whomever it was to enter. His father walked inside, his eyes stern, though Neji knew that this was all an act he pulled in front of others. He closed the door behind him. Neji expected his expression to soften, but it stayed stern, which showed that he was either upset with Neji, or he had serious news. Maybe both.

"I heard about your loss," Hizashi began as he took a wooden seat and pulled it closer to the bed Neji was sitting on.

"Gomen, chichi-ue. I did my best," Neji said, bowing lowly to signify that he was really sorry.

"Don't be. Wins and loses happen, and you learn from both, but you learn most from losses. You will not lose again, given a similar situation, ne?" his father asked. His tone was soft, and so was his comforting gaze, but he switched back to the stern persona. "However, that is not what I came here to discuss. I… have simply decided it is time you knew the truth of your family," Hizashi explained.

Neji froze. What truth? Hadn't he been living in the truth? This, needless to say, interested him, to say the least. Hizashi sighed before beginning. "I was born second in a set of twins. In normal times, the eldest would have been chosen to be the head of the Hyuuga family. However, when we were older, my older brother, Hiashi, was unable to bear a son with his wife. Instead, he birthed two daughters—Hinata and Hanabi. Because he could not bear a son, and only a ninja could lead the Hyuuga family, he and his family was sentenced as Branch family members, while I was chosen as the Head, for I bore one son—you. You are cousins to the late Hinata and Hanabi, not their brother," he simplified. He paused, gauging Neji's reaction.

Neji was shocked, to say the least. He was frozen in wonder, curiosity, and mounting rage that, all his life he had been misled.

"That is only the beginning of the story, Neji. You see, just after Hanabi was born, the Cloud and the Leaf signed a peace treaty, one that the Cloud broke by sending a Cloud nin into the Hyuuga compound. They attempted to steal you away, Neji, but Hiashi—your late uncle—saved you, but killed the Cloud nin. The Cloud deemed this a breech of the treaty on the Leaf's part, and they reached an agreement that, if they had my head, they'd leave it be. However, Hiashi had different ideas. You see, he refused to allow me to die, and his head was sent in my place, for as we were twins, they wouldn't know the difference."

"But, chichi-ue, what about… the curse seal?" Neji asked, unable to help himself.

"They didn't see the head before it was taken off. After death, the seal disappears," Hizashi explained calmly, although he knew he had explained the seal and all of its characteristics to him before.

"Ah," Neji replied simply, no longer looking at his father's face, but now, once again at his hands. _'Not my sister…? Wait… that girl… wouldn't she have known that? In the books, I'm sure it says we're cousins. But… How could she know that I thought she was my sister?'_ Neji asked himself.

"I'll leave you to your thoughts," Hizashi said with a small bow. "And… forgive me for misleading you all these years. However, I have never treated the two of them like anything but my own. Please, treat Hanabi no differently than you would if she was really your sister," Hizashi said, dismissing himself from the room.

----

Tsunade, Kurenai, Shizune, Uzuki, and Anko were all immensely proud of Hinata for making it to the third exam. They were currently celebrating Hinata's success, before the massive training she'd undergo during the third exam in a month. At the end of the night, after all of them had had their fun, Uzuki took Hinata to the side.

"Have Sakura or Ino told you what happened after your match?" Uzuki asked, grabbing her shoulders, showing what had happened was urgent. Her tone was panicky, and she was obviously worried.

Hinata was shocked, but shook her head in reply. She had been in the medical room during the last match between Kabuto and Satoshi, and during the briefing of the last test, but had been filled in on the information about the last exam already.

Uzuki sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Well… the silver haired ninja, Kabuto Yakushi… He didn't fight. He forfeited his match. He just suddenly nodded after your match, and disappeared in a puff of smoke, as if he'd never been there, in Sakura's words. This isn't good. He… before the first exam, he was selling information. He was collecting information on _you_, Hinata. For some reason," Uzuki explained.

"Why… Why would he want information on me?" Hinata asked, now worried as well.

"I don't know. But that's never good," Uzuki determined with a small sigh. "Never," she finished definitively. "However, there's something else we need to talk about, something much less grave," Uzuki said, starting to smile, now.

"What?" Hinata asked, intrigued at the other news.

"How would you feel about being my apprentice? Sakura has Tsunade, Tenten has Anko, Ino has Kurenai… And you're already doing so well! Having a teacher would make you scores stronger," Uzuki offered.

"Really? That… that'd be great!" Hinata cried out happily, forgetting about Neji, forgetting about weird spies gathering information about her, and threw her arms around Uzuki's neck in excitement.

**A/N: Finally! I've finally gotten away from canon! D Now it shouldn't be really, really, really, really, really boring to those that have read the anime and watched the manga (I typed that on purpose, I swear). Well, I hoped you enjoyed the new chapter, and I hope you're all pleased that it's gotten creative now! Bwahaha! XD**


	12. Chapter 12

**In A Time Where Kunoichi Didn't Exist**

Hinata sat on the roof of the building, staring ahead at the sky. Uzuki noticed that she had been doing that a lot, and whenever she didn't have anything else to do—strictly speaking that is. Hinata always had the option of training for the last exam, but she only trained under Uzuki's supervision. Tenten was worried about Hinata, but whenever Tenten asked her what she thought while she was on the roof, she was always brushed aside. So, Tenten decided that Hinata really did need the alone time. Besides, she had a lot to think about, between Neji, Naruto, the next exam, her training, her (basically) dormant bloodline limit, and of course, memories of the second exam, which still, even now, seemed to haunt her.

But, really, Hinata was thinking about only one of those—_really_ thinking. She knew whom she was fighting in the next exam, and it just happened to be Naruto (1), and that was whom she was thinking about. She wasn't worried about the fight, not really—she was simply thinking of him, and what their relationship would be like (if you could call it a relationship at that point) after they fought in the third Chuunin exam.

Another thing that Tenten noticed was that Uzuki would randomly just… leave. She'd disappear and wouldn't come back for hours. According to Anko (which was to be kept strictly secret), things like this happened a lot. Anko thought Uzuki had a boyfriend, and as soon as Tenten heard her say that, she thought of the man who refereed the second Chuunin exams, Hayate. Tenten couldn't be positive—unless she followed her or something—but she had a feeling that that was her boyfriend. How much he knew, and how far she'd gotten with him, however, Tenten had no way of gauging.

----

Uzuki was sparring with Hinata. She said that, though her jutsu skills were extraordinary, she needed work on the taijutsu. If she couldn't protect herself well enough to be able to back up and use a jutsu, then she'd get nowhere—not with her fighting skills. Really, ninjutsu should be supplementary to ninjutsu. And, though Hinata knew how to fight styles such as the Juken, she couldn't fight regularly—she couldn't fight martial artists or anyone with such skill.

Uzuki had somehow picked up a habit of talking as she fought, one that Hinata was now gradually picking up as well. She was still trying to find out what Hinata was thinking when she was alone, just as Hinata was attempting to find out where Uzuki left for almost daily (for she did not have the information Tenten had). And Uzuki was not in the least bit convinced she should tell Hinata.

"So… what… do… you… think… about… on… that… roof?" Uzuki asked, speaking a word each time she made a hit, blocked, dodged, or did anything else.

"Where… do… you… go… every… day?" Hinata asked, her tone and pauses the same as Uzuki's.

"I… do… not… have… to… reveal… such… information… to… my… pupil. You… however… are… my… student… and… should… be… open… with… things… like… that!" Uzuki retorted.

"Why… should… I… be… open? How… can… I… build… trust… if… you… do… not… tell… me… anything!" Hinata replied.

They were at a stalemate. They continued to argue, never getting anywhere. Uzuki could always perform a hypnosis ninjutsu, and Hinata could always follow her, but in that respect they trusted each other. They trusted each other not to steal the information, not matter how badly they may have wanted it.

"Oi, Uzuki!" Anko called out. Uzuki stopped abruptly, and, not wanting to take advantage in a situation such as this, for that would be foul play and not at all beneficial to Hinata, Hinata paused as well. "Mind if we use this section for target practice?" Anko asked, holding up a kunai with a smirk.

Uzuki grunted and nodded in response and walked over to the side, slumping down in the chair. "You're letting your thoughts consume you. If you keep thinking like that, you'll eventually be lost in a hole of self-despair. If you have so much free time, train," Uzuki commanded as she used a towel to wipe the sweat at the base of her neck. She grabbed her water bottle and squeezed it hard, the water spurting into her mouth.

Hinata pulled her own water bottle out of her mouth and considered replying. However, before she could think of a suitable excuse to get out of the extra training, Uzuki stood and informed Hinata she was leaving. She left the training room, and Hinata glanced over at Anko and Tenten. The two of them had bonded so well, but even after the second Chuunin exam, and her becoming her teacher and everything, Hinata felt no closer to Uzuki than the moment Uzuki broke her of her fear of fire.

"Oi! Hinata! Even jutsu-users can learn to aim!" Anko called over to Hinata. Hinata smiled and stood, understanding the invitation. She took the target board beside Tenten, grabbing kunai from the box in between Tenten and herself.

"So, what do you do on the roof? Just think?" Tenten asked as she threw a kunai towards the board. It hit the ring just outside of the bull's-eye, the normal spot that she hit. She no longer got excited at actually hitting the bull's-eye, for Anko had told her the only time to be excited over hitting her mark on a board is when she hit all of them exactly.

Hinata nodded as she flung a kunai towards the target board. It missed completely.

"Ah! Hinata! You should train with us more often when Uzuki leaves!" Anko said with a smirk.

"You know, you only have two weeks until the Chuunin exams…" Tenten pointed out, flinging another kunai at the board. It hit the bull's-eye. Tenten smirked in self-satisfaction, before grabbing another kunai and throwing it as well. Two rings away.

Hinata grunted in reply, and threw another kunai. She did need work on target practice, after all.

----

When Anko finished her practice with Tenten, she, Hinata, and Tenten walked out of the room. As she exited, they caught sight of Kurenai and Ino.

"Oh, girls! Did you just finish practice? How about coming with us? We're going to have to work on Ino's observational skills, and having more people around might help…" Kurenai invited.

Tenten agreed immediately, and Hinata reluctantly agreed. Thinking could always wait, after all.

The 'training' that Kurenai and Ino did was more like a game. Tenten and Hinata joined in, and, surprisingly, Kurenai even let them play as well. Kurenai would make a genjutsu of two copies of one of them, and the other two would have to figure out which one was the real person. The first round was, "Guess Who's Tenten?"

So, three Tentens stood beside each other, all copying the moves of the original Tenten (just to make it harder). Hinata automatically ruled out the first, because the kunai holster was on the wrong leg. She then compared the other two, who looked pretty much identical. Hinata circled the last two, wondering how to tell them apart.

Then she noticed it. Tenten had cut her hand, and on the remaining two people, the cut wasn't visible. So, Hinata immediately pointed that one to be the real one, and Ino pointed out the one beside her to be the real one. Hinata was right.

They played for a long time, Kurenai eventually tiring of whoever was the target acting outrageous because they couldn't stand still, so instead using herself as a model.

In the end, Hinata was the one who was the best at it, but Ino was the one who improved the most. Kurenai deemed it a worthy use of their training time, and sent them away to do… whatever. As soon as Kurenai said this, Ino grabbed Tenten's arm and asked her to do some odd activity with her before running off with her out the room.

Hinata sighed and walked out the room, not really caring what they were off to do. She walked out of the room, only to see Sakura and Shizune standing there. Usually, when Sakura trained, Tsunade was with her. But, when Tsunade was too busy, Shizune was her replacement teacher.

"Oh! Hinata-chan! Would you like to train with me? We're going to be working on basics, and you might be able to pick up a bit…" Sakura explained.

And then it hit her.

They were trying to keep Hinata from thinking. From going onto the roof and falling into thoughts that no one could bring her out of.

She didn't know whether to be happy, mad, or relieved they cared.

She decided on mad, for that was her first reaction.

"Sakura. Whatever Uzuki has told you, disregard it," Hinata growled, stalking off past Sakura, leaving a dazed kunoichi behind her.

'_What has Uzuki told me…? Oh, wait. I think she'd realized that Ino, Tenten and I have started trying to get Hinata off the roof. She must not realize Uzuki has nothing to do with it… In fact, we came up with it ourselves…'_ Sakura thought sadly as she watched the girl slam the door leading outside closed, and knew that she was climbing up the ladder that led to the roof.

----

Hinata sat on the roof, staring ahead at the setting sun reproachfully. She was reprimanding herself for having been so cruel to her friends. After all, they were only trying to help. Was it such a bad thing for Hinata to stew in her own thoughts? But then again, was it a good thing? Probably not, Hinata decided, but it was something she basically _needed_ at that point.

She was startled out of her thoughts when she heard a familiar voice call up to her. "Oi! Naru-chan!" the voice called to her. When she heard, she nearly fell of the roof, but turned to see the person she had, indeed, thought it had been.

Naruto Uzumaki.

Hinata immediately climbed down from the roof and jumped the fence with grace, having done so many times. Why take the time to walk around the yard, walk through the gate, and walk back to talk to Naruto, after.

"Hello, Naruto-kun," Hinata greeted softly with a small bow, suppressing a blush—well, not completely.

"Naru-chan, do you have a fever?" he asked, oblivious.

"Iie, Naruto-kun. It's just that the building is kept very warm, and I needed air…" she explained, lying gracefully. She had indeed grown good at lying, when the time permitted a lie.

"Ah! I see!" he exclaimed, and then leaned forward to examine the building. "Isn't that the place where those old ladies have tea and stuff…?" Naruto asked, wondering why she was staying with the Buds.

"Hai! Ano… They're letting us stay until the end of the Chuunin exams…" she explained, her forefingers pressing together from a nervous habit.

"Oh! I see! That's nice of them!" Naruto exclaimed happily.

"Hai… They have very spacious grounds for, uh, training…" Hinata replied, glancing away from Naruto a little, but staring when she was looking at him.

"I see… That's right, we're fighting in the third exam, ne?" Naruto asked, somewhat sadly. _'He… he doesn't want to fight me!'_ she inwardly jumped for joy.

"Hai…" Hinata replied.

"I won't go easy on you, just because you're a girl!" Naruto then added, almost as if it was an afterthought.

"Arigatou!" Hinata replied, surprising Naruto by _thanking_ him. "Not many people can overlook gender," she explained slyly.

"Ch, I think the no kunoichi rules are stupid! When I'm Hokage, that'll be the first thing to go…" he growled passionately.

She felt her heart make another deep lunge, as if Naruto was unintentionally burrowing deeper and deeper into her thoughts, her soul, and her heart all at once. She felt herself go madly red, and she looked down. At that moment, she desperately wanted to tell him that she was indeed from Konoha, that she was Hiro, and so many other things that she could hardly contain herself. She nearly did explode with thousands of confessions, apologies, and confessions that she felt herself go weak as she held all of these things back.

Naruto was about to ask her if she was, in fact, all right, when she heard a voice hiss from behind them.

"Naru-chan, might I have a word?" the voice asked. Hinata nearly cringed at the unmistakable hissing sound, and was shocked that a random person would ask for _her_. Not many events happened such as that, because she, along with the other kunoichi, usually did their best to keep themselves hidden.

"Ah, well, I'll leave you two to it, then!" Naruto exclaimed, dismissing himself, before heading down the road towards his original destination.

"Good… My name is Orochimaru, Hinata Hyuuga-hime," the voice explained, finally introducing himself. Hinata was nearly frozen to the spot when he used her real name, but became once again enraged due to the fact that he seemed to use the 'hime' honorific to make fun of her origins.

"Good afternoon, Orochimaru-san. What do you want?" Hinata asked, her eyes sharpening into a glare.

"Simply to discuss a business opportunity, Hinata-chan. Simply to discuss business," he replied gently, as if he was tiptoeing around a bomb that might explode at any second.

**A/N: Sorry I left you guys at a cliffhanger. A worse cliffhanger would be in the middle of Hinata and Naruto talking, right? Right? Well, review, pretty please! **

**(1) – Yes, she's fighting Naruto. She's taking Neji's place. Everyone else is fighting just who they are supposed to, as well.**


	13. Chapter 13

**In A Time Where Kunoichi Didn't Exist**

Hinata would not lie—she was afraid of the man. She found herself fully wishing that Naruto had not left, that she still had backup. She had never heard of this man, and, in all honesty, he reeked of evil. While her formal upbringing would not allow her to be actually _rude_ to the man, she wished to simply disappear under his shifting gaze.

"As a Hyuuga, I expect you have the Byakugan…" he hissed. His voice always came out as a hiss, as if he was actually snake-like in nature. She couldn't be sure, but if any animal was affiliated with this man, it would definitely be a snake. Snakes seemed to fit him.

"H-hai…" she replied. No use would come of lying.

"I see… Hinata-chan, what is your goal in life…?" he asked. If Hinata was worried earlier, she was panicking now. Such personal questions should not be asked when you first meet someone!

"A-ano… Well… I wish to be Hokage, or to help someone into that position, in order to… to destroy all laws… forbidding kunoichi…" she explained slowly, constantly unsure if she really wanted to tell this man or not.

Orochimaru let out a little laugh. "I could help with that, you know… You need power to achieve the position of Hokage, and that, I can give you…" Orochimaru halfway whispered.

"That… that's not what I want," Hinata replied, surprising even herself. "I want to gain it on my own power… If I become Hokage, I want to become it… through my own will…" she explained. When she looked up at Orochimaru, he seemed frozen, as if she had just shot an arrow through him with her words. And then, he let out a chuckle.

"No one has ever said 'no' to me before… Maybe you are stubborn enough to survive…" he muttered, as if talking to himself. And then, to Hinata's shock, his neck expanded. He flung his head and neck forward at her, and before Hinata could make a move to do a jutsu or otherwise defend herself, his teeth sank into the soft flesh of her neck, leaving a few black marks on her neck.

Hinata gasped out in pain and fell to her knees after Orochimaru pulled away, grasping the area where he had bit her, as if holding it would help. Tears were falling out of her eyes from the shock of the pain, and Orochimaru let out a sadistic chuckle at the sight. "You _will_ seek _me_, not the other way around, Hinata," he whispered coarsely, before turning and disappearing, as if he had never been there. Hinata fell forward, the world fading from her sight.

"Naru!" Naruto cried, emerging from behind the fence he had hidden behind. He ran to her, placing comforting hands on her back, though she couldn't feel it. "So… you're really from here, ne?" he asked softly and rhetorically. He picked her up bridal style, and turned to the building. He definitely had to help her, even though in just a few weeks, they'd be fighting. But, yet, how was he to tell her… whatever they were to her… that he knew their secret?

"Oi, kid. You know?" a gruff sounding voice came from behind him. Naruto turned, ready to protect the girl, but then realized that he was on the side of the girl and "The Buds", or so they called themselves.

Naruto grunted in the affirmative and the older man sighed. He had unruly white hair, and was dressed extremely oddly. On his forehead, as opposed to the usual Konoha headband, was a metal plate with the kanji for 'oil'.

"I am the great Toad Sanin, Jiraiya-sama!" he explained, finally introducing himself. "And I know this girl. What will you do, now that you know?" Jiraiya asked, raising an eyebrow at him, as if waiting for a certain response.

"Keep her secret," he said firmly. Jiraiya stared at him, as if he was making sure that he wasn't lying.

Jiraiya sighed, and nodded. "I'll walk you to the door. I know the person that runs this place," Jiraiya offered—well, told—Naruto.

Naruto followed Jiraiya, in no position to refuse. He had to get the girl inside and with the people that could care for her. She was having trouble breathing, and a thin layer of sweat had formed on her forehead. She was breathing through her mouth, the intake of breaths sounding shaky. Jiraiya didn't bother knocking on the door, but instead, simply walked in and turned to the nearest person—Anko. "Hinata has had a run in with trouble. Have Tsunade take a look at her," he commanded gently. Anko nearly glared at the tone in which he commanded her, gave Naruto a questioning look, and then hurried off to find Tsunade.

"Ano… where do I put her?" Naruto asked. Jiraiya held a hand, signaling for him to wait. Almost as soon as Anko left to find Tsunade, she came, and quickly took her from Naruto's hands.

"Who is he?" Tsunade asked, glaring at Jiraiya accusingly.

Jiraiya held up his hands. "I don't even know his name. He witnessed what happened, however," Jiraiya explained.

"And what about you? Did you see?" Tsunade asked, starting to walk away. Jiraiya followed behind her, having taken the fact that she continued talking to him a sign that he should follow her.

"No, I came right after… He had just picked her up," Tsunade explained. Uzuki, who had just come out of an adjacent room, turned to Naruto and gasped.

"He is the boy Naru is supposed to fight in the third exam!" she exclaimed.

Tsunade stopped, and Jiraiya let out a chuckle. "Boy, you are strange… You're helping your enemy, knowing you are going to fight her in just a little while?"

"That aside, you, come with us and tell what happened, and why you couldn't stop it," Tsunade said, glaring back at Naruto. Naruto gulped, but followed the scary lady anyways. He was in no position to refuse.

----

"Yeah, that sounds like Orochimaru," Jiraiya said, nodding thoughtfully, after listening to Naruto's story.

"Orochimaru? You know him?" Tsunade asked in shock, nearly losing her concentration.

"I… know him, too," Anko jumped in, looking extremely nervous by the door.

"You do?" Tsunade asked, slightly surprised. Sure, Tsunade had agreed to let Anko stay there, barely a teenager, with very little recollection of her past, but she didn't expect her to have been affiliated with the evil-sounding man. In fact, the little Anko could remember, she remembered about the man and pain. And, even from the entrance of the room, she could see the same mark that was on her neck, on Hinata's.

"Yeah… He… he told me he'd give me power, and that he'd… he'd allow me to be a kunoichi. He forced me to kill… and go through pain… and now, even now, I still can feel it, sometimes… Hinata is marked for life, Tsunade," Anko explained, rubbing her neck unconsciously as she explained the mark.

"I see," was all Tsunade said. "We need a seals expert…" she commented with a sigh. She paused, then looked up at Jiraiya. "Do you know one? One we can trust?" Tsunade asked. Another main advantage of having Jiraiya around was that he knew people, and he knew whom he could trust and whom he couldn't.

"… The old pupil of my late apprentice, perhaps…" Jiraiya began.

"Can we trust him?" Tsunade repeated.

"Hai. We can trust him," Jiraiya said with a nod. He turned to Naruto. "Stay here. Listen to these women, or else you may find yourself at the business end of… Whatever or whomever they have handy," Jiraiya said with a wave, noting all the different specialists in the room—medical, weaponry, genjutsu, and jutsu. Really, it pretty much depended on who you pissed off.

Naruto nodded silently and glanced around the room. Anko was tolerating him, Kurenai looked suspicious, Shizune was offering him a comforting smile, Uzuki was glaring at him (either at memories of the second exam or daring him to do something), and Tsunade was ignoring him.

Naruto sighed and took a seat, knowing he'd be there for a while. So much for training…

----

Kakashi's face showed no emotion as he examined the mark. He greeted Naruto, somewhat surprised his Genin was there. He finally let out a breath and said, "My student has the same mark… I know how to deal with it, but it will be more painful for her, and it's too raw to do it now. I can do it tomorrow, or tonight, perhaps, depending on when she wakes up… And if she lives."

"We are in your debt," Tsunade acknowledged. Has she been standing, she may have even bowed—a small one, a _very_ small one—but she could only nod.

"Just keep her alive," Kakashi said simply.

----

_Pain. Ripples upon ripples, wave upon wave of never ending pain. Memories flashed by her vision, as if she was reliving them, but somehow, snakes were seen at all times, although she had had little contact with snakes. She saw Hanabi, smiling happily as she bit into the cupcake that a Branch member was sneaking her. She saw Neji hugging her. She saw her father telling her to be careful. She saw Naoko reading to her out of the Legend of the Kunoichi, while she laid in the bed, the covers around her ears. She saw her father buying the book. She saw all the times she had trained in her room, copying the other members of the family unbeknownst to her father and the rest of the family. She saw the day she snuck into the Academy, and then relived more recent events, such as moving into the "Buds" hideout and training with everyone. _

_She saw herself talking with Naruto, which had happened just that night. She saw him leave, and she saw herself talking to Orochimaru. Just the vision of Orochimaru, telling her that she'd seek his power intensified the pain. She cried out, hoping to warn her past self not to trust that snake, not to listen to him. And then, as she saw herself being bitten by Orochimaru, she screamed…_

Hinata was writhing in pain on the bed, finally realizing that she was conscious. Her breathing was thick, and she felt weak. Her neck was sore, and she attempted to raise a limp arm in order to massage the sore spot, to lessen the pain in her neck. Her eyes slowly opened. She was in a dark room, while the adults talked. Naruto was sitting across the room, staring into space. He was the one who pointed out that Hinata was awake by pulling on Kakashi's sleeve and pointed.

"Ahh, Hinata-chan, you're awake," he said, smiling—though she couldn't really tell behind his mask, she just kind of got the feeling that he was—as he said so. "How are you feeling?" he asked gently.

"… Pain… who are…?" Hinata asked, still too weak to really talk.

"I am Kakashi—Naruto's Jonin teacher," he explained. "I'm glad you've survived, Hinata-chan," he said softly. He began probing around Hinata's neck, despite her cries of pain as he did so. "I have to wait until tomorrow to seal the curse seal—until then, Hinata-chan, you're going to have to bear with the pain," Kakashi said, switching from kind and sweet to serious, and then back to the kind and sweet persona.

"H-hai…" she mumbled weakly.

"Give her some sleeping pills. It will be better if she can sleep through the pain," Kakashi said. Tsunade held the pills up for him to say, as if to say, "Already got them, thanks."

Tsunade plopped the pills into the water, and, knowing Hinata probably couldn't swallow the pills, allowed them to dissolve in a glass of water. She had Shizune tilt Hinata's head upward as she slowly poured the medicated water into Hinata's mouth. Shizune set down Hinata's head as soon as Tsunade was done, and then gently wiped off the water and layer of sweat from her face with a damp cloth.

"Thank you, once again, for you help, Kakashi," Tsunade said with a bow.

"Don't worry about it," he said with a smile, before turning to Naruto. "Come on, it's late. Just because I have something to do tomorrow doesn't mean you're not training," he said simply, even though he knew that Naruto would willingly train at any given time.

"Un!" Naruto grunted in response, before following Kakashi out. Jiraiya also followed, his business with Tsunade and the other kunoichi having been completed.

Once they were gone, and Kurenai had escorted them to the door, she turned to Tsunade. "Think we can trust those two?" she asked, still uncertain.

"I think so. And, if we can't, I can take both of them," Tsunade said with a slightly sadistic smirk.

----

When Kakashi arrived the next day, Tsunade automatically led him to the room where Hinata was. She was somewhat surprised he hadn't brought along Naruto, but then again, there was no real reason he shouldn't be there.

She was about to enter the room behind Kakashi, when Anko came running up to her, holding out a letter and breathing heavily. She had been running around looking for her for a while, obviously.

"Urgent message... from the Suna... Kazekage," Shizune gasped out, still trying to catch her breath.

Tsunade tore open the letter and began reading. "Oh shit," she said out loud before turning to Shizune. "Go in there and supervise him. I have business to attend to," she commanded Shizune before making her way for her study.

**A/N: Review, pretty please?**


	14. Chapter 14

**In A Time Where Kunoichi Didn't Exist**

_Dear Tsunade-san,_

_This letter will be much different from all the others. As opposed to offering my services, or agreeing to, I'll be asking you, along with the rest of Konoha's lovely Buds, to extend a helping hand towards us._

_Konoha has, for far too long, been taking advantage of our lovely Sunagakure. We also, after getting to know the lovely kunoichi of the Leaf, are adamant against their ways of thinking and their laws. We think that a time has come to bring Konoha down from its position of power, for it has definitely proved that it is not worthy of such reputation._

_This is where we require your services. In the next Chuunin exam, one of your members, as well as three of ours, shall be participating. Also, we expect that all, or most, of the other members of the Buds will be watching the matches as well. At the end of the fight that is to be held between our Gaara and Konoha's Uchiha Sasuke, we are planning a sneak attack._

_Whether you decide to help or not is your choice. However, we will not hesitate if you turn against us. Please, remember, although you know your place of origin, we are truly the ones that treat you as you should be treated. As worthy ninja._

_Please, consider—_

_The Kazekage_

_P.S. – The Hidden Village of the Sound is also an ally of ours. In fact, they are similar to you—without us, they would not have been able to participate in the Chuunin Exams any time in the near future._

Tsunade contemplated the letter for a long time, sitting in her office. No one was bothering her—and that was good. She could only assume that the sealing of Hinata's curse seal was going well, as she had not been able to stop her train of thought in order to stop by and check upon her.

Really, the Kazekage had very firm ground on asking such things of the Buds. After all, really, Konohagakure had treated them unfairly. Many kunoichi had been tried and found guilty, then publicly executed in order to prevent even more women from being shinobi. Plus, if it hadn't been for Suna, the Buds probably would have either withered away by now, or at the very least, not been able to participate in the Chuunin exams.

She did owe them more than she could possibly ever repay, or so she thought. Doing this would clear them of any debt towards Suna they were morally obligated to fill.

And really, Konoha was only the place the kunoichi were born. All in all, it was a tempting deal.

She'd have to take a vote.

----

The ritual was strange, but that was the farthest thing from Hinata's mind. She was sitting shirtless in front of a man she had barely met before, and he was forming constant seals. Kurenai, Shizune, and Uzuki were watching silently from the sides as Hinata fidgeted nervously in the center of the circle, which Kakashi had prepared with expert knowledge and skill.

And then, without warning, Kakashi sealed it.

Excruciating pain coursed through Hinata's body. She screamed out in pain, feeling as if thunderbolts were running through her veins, instead of blood. She wanted to hold herself, to somehow abate the pain, but she found that all she could so was sit there and scream. She watched half-heartedly, still screaming, as the black swirls of ink, shaped short of like tiger stripes, coursed up her arm, twirling around her limbs and torso as if they were being drained to the curse seal.

Finally, when the last bit of black had been sucked into the curse seal, Hinata fell forward, Kakashi catching her tentatively with one hand across her stomach. He sighed and sat her back into a sitting position, although still unconscious, and allowed Uzuki to gently place a tunic over her head and past her arms to cover her indecency. Kakashi picked her up himself and went wordlessly back to her room, where he laid her out on the bed and walked out.

"Thanks," Uzuki muttered, her voice breaking slightly. Kakashi made no move to comfort her, knowing that, though she was a woman, she would probably attempt to castrate him if he treated her like she was vulnerable. Kakashi knew and understood that, somehow. He had learned from a girl named Rin who would beat him up if he even insinuated boys were better than girls. She had been a secret kunoichi, and he, along with a boy named Obito, were the only ones to know her secret.

She had been executed years ago, when she was only seventeen. Obito died soon after during a mission. They had been Kakashi's best friends—his _only_ friends—and they left him alone in the world.

Not that he'd tell anybody.

Kakashi abruptly stopped thinking of his sad (though others had had sadder) past after Uzuki closed a door shut, more loudly than needed. When Shizune finally walked out of Hinata's room, she stopped and stared at him.

"There are no unnecessary marks, and you never touched her, or looked at her, in a strange way," she began, as if she was relieved, or surprised. She then took a deep bow, her head about as low as Kakashi's knees. "We are forever in your debt, Kakashi-san. Please, continue to keep out secret," she muttered. Without giving him time to reply, she hurried off out the door, now dressed as a doctor. She had work to do at the hospital.

Kakashi sighed. The last woman came out, Kurenai. He expected a thank you, but instead, she locked eyes with him briefly, and then hurried on. In that look, Kakashi thought he could see just a small bit of gratitude, but really, it was hard to tell. The genjutsu-user was obviously a strange woman.

Tsunade finally came out of her study, and glanced around, noting that Kakashi was the only one left. She sighed, and turned to him. "Gomen, Kakashi-san, but the Buds need to have a meeting from kunoichi to kunoichi. Regarding monthly feminine supplies," she added, knowing that that would keep _any_ man away from the conversation forever.

Kakashi visibly blanched. He didn't like hearing women talk about… _that_. It was… disturbing. How can something bleed for _so_ long without _dying_ or, at the very least, _fainting_ from blood loss?

Kakashi nodded quickly, said that Tsunade was welcome and that he'd be willing to help out any time, and then he vanished. Not ran, not walked—_vanished_.

"Buds meeting!" she called out, her voice much louder than usual, somehow.

When the kunoichi heard these words, they knew automatically to line up in Tsunade's office, no questions asked. They wouldn't wait for you, and you couldn't come in the middle of the conversation. You had to be there from the beginning. And, if you missed it, you'd have to get all the details from someone else at a _much_ later date.

So, needless to say, all the present, conscious Bud members hurried to Tsunade's office. She gave them five minutes to get there, and after the five minutes were up, she instructed Kurenai to close the door with a waving motion of her hand.

She sighed, and tossed the letter down onto the desk. She glanced from kunoichi to kunoichi, and sighed, her finger on the letter. "This letter… is from the Kazekage," she began dramatically. She was stalling for time, and they all could tell that much. She was trying to put her words together, trying to make them seem… well, right, somehow.

"And… they are planning to ambush Konoha after the third Chuunin exam. They want us to help, or stay out of their way," she finished, deciding that making it long-winded would only build more suspense that didn't need to be built.

The looks of shock on each of the kunoichi's faces were priceless. Tsunade almost wished that Shizune didn't have a hospital shift today, for Shizune's reactions were always the most dramatic. And some of them looked like they could rival Shizune's look when Tonton peed somewhere inside—Tsunade somewhat imagined Shizune fainting from the shock.

She folded her hands, and leaned forward. "We have three options in this type of situation," she began. "We can either help Suna, stay neutral, or fight alongside our hometown, Konoha," she explained. "Suna has helped us through more than we can describe, but we are somewhat indebted to our hometown as well, even if they would want us dead," she explained. "We'll vote on it later on, when everyone is here. Any input?"

Tenten immediately raised her hand. Anko raised an eyebrow at her, having already informed her that it was usually only the older, more experienced members that gave any input. Tsunade pointed at her, giving her permission to speak, holding back a smirk at her boldness.

"Do you think if we helped Konoha, that they'd make allowances for us?" she asked. "I mean, if they knew were are girls from their town, that means they'd have two choices—either execute us, or allow kunoichi…" she explained.

Tsunade frowned. A much younger, less experienced member had come up with something she hadn't thought about. Yes, they really should think of the consequences. If they didn't help Suna, it was possible that Suna's interest in them would drop, or even completely disappear. Not to mention, if they did help Suna, they'd have to actually relocate to Suna, else they'd be caught in Konoha. Helping Konoha, as Tenten pointed out, made them vulnerable to them finding out where they were from.

But, then again, if she were Hokage (and male, of course), she'd allow them to stay in her village, but force them to give up their shinobi way of life.

All in all, most of the scenarios where lose-lose situations. No one else seemed to be offering anything else, and Tsunade sighed. "If there is no more input, then leave," she instructed. The kunoichi all bowed lightly and left the room, all silently thinking about the situation and the consequences of their choices.

----

"Ahh, you're up," Uzuki said gently as Hinata's eyes fluttered open. She could tell it was nighttime, and she had passed out all day from the shock of the ceremony of sealing the curse seal.

"Ah, hai…" she muttered weakly. "Mizu…?" she asked gently. Uzuki held up a glass of ice water and held it up, waiting for Hinata to sit up so that she could drink it without spilling it onto the covers.

Hinata sat up, and with somewhat shaky hands, grabbed the glass using both hands and brought it to her lips. She drunk about half of the glass and passed it back to Uzuki, who placed it on the bedside table that Hinata couldn't reach.

"So, what did I miss?" Hinata asked with a small smile.

"We had a kunoichi meeting," Uzuki began, her soft smile turning quickly into a firm, serious look.

"We did? About what?" Hinata asked, both interested and perturbed.

"Suna wants us to help overtake Konoha at the next Chuunin exams. We're voting tomorrow night on either helping Suna, helping Konoha, or staying neutral," Uzuki explained.

"I see… What are you voting on?" Hinata asked, her words coming out somewhat weakly—her worry could be heard in nearly every syllable.

"… I'm voting on helping Suna," Uzuki replied, somewhat reluctantly. Probably the most Konoha-bound kunoichi at the Buds was Hinata—and Uzuki knew that Hinata would be shocked.

But, she wasn't.

"I see…" she replied, sighing slightly at the end.

"What… what are you voting for?" Uzuki asked, wondering if she was going to be changing her mind on Konoha or not.

"I'm voting to help Konoha. I mean, we have this information, and… we owe it to our hometowns, don't we?" Hinata asked. Uzuki could tell she was uncertain, however. "Besides, I want to change Konoha—not overthrow them," she elaborated.

"Hinata… It'd be easier to overthrow it than change it," Uzuki said gently.

"Yeah, but… I have family here… And memories… And… I know the people from here. Would you want to betray Kakashi, Naruto, or Jiraiya? I mean, they… they've done so much for us, at a higher risk than Sunagakure has undergone… After all, Suna can't be punished for helping us, other than maybe loosing Konoha as an ally, but… the others can actually loose their lives…" Hinata explained.

Uzuki sighed. Hinata had a point, but even then, sometimes you had to betray your allies for the greater good. Uzuki tried explaining that to Hinata, but Hinata refused to change her position. After Uzuki realized it was hopeless, she left the room, deciding that there were other things she could be doing that would be more productive. Sleep, for instance.

"Oh, yeah. Um… the person that I've been leaving the headquarters to visit? He says he wants to meet my pupil. I'm going to see him tomorrow, after we train. You want to come?" Uzuki asked reluctantly. _Why_ he wanted to meet Hinata, Uzuki didn't know. He explained it as, 'I want to meet the girl that you've influenced so much', or something along those lines.

Hinata was completely shocked by this, but she nodded. "Ano, hai… Is he… your boyfriend?" Hinata asked slowly, uncertain if Uzuki would enjoy answering a personal question such as that.

"Well, yeah, I guess…" Uzuki replied before hurrying out of the room. Hinata wasn't entirely sure, but she thought she could see a blush on the otherwise cold kunoichi's face.

**A/N: Well, I'm now on Spring Break officially. Good news, right? XD Well, review, pretty please! Although what happens next might be a _bit_ obvious, well, I think it'll still be interesting.**


	15. Chapter 15

**In A Time When Kunoichi Didn't Exist**

Hinata hadn't seen Uzuki for days now—after Uzuki told Hinata that she would get to meet her boyfriend, she hadn't heard anything from Uzuki. In fact, no one in the entire mansion had heard from Uzuki. Hinata, of course, was getting more and more worried—especially because she hadn't even been around for the voting.

"All in favor of siding with Suna?" Tsunade asked, the rest of the kunoichi lined up in front of her. Tenten, Ino, and Tsunade herself raised their hands.

"_All in favor of siding with Konoha?" Hinata and Anko raised their hands here._

"_All in favor of staying completely neutral?" Shizune, Sakura, and Kurenai raised their hands. _

"_It's a tie between neutral and siding with Suna… Those of you who voted to side with Konoha, vote again between neutral and siding with Suna. Of course, Hinata and Anko voted for neutral, which meant that the Buds were to stay neutral._

Of course, as even Hinata knew, that was only what Tsunade was telling the Kazekage of Suna. Really, all the individual members of the Buds would do whatever they pleased at the Third Exam—Hinata would go and help Konoha, as would Anko, and all the others would do what they pleased. Hinata was somewhat relieved that Uzuki hadn't been present at the voting—otherwise, it would have been helping Suna—and Hinata still wasn't sure where Orochimaru fit into the entire plot, but she wanted revenge.

Finally, unable to bear Uzuki's withdrawnness and antisocialism, she knocked on Uzuki's door. She heard no reply, and in fact, she could hear nothing from the other side of the door, even when she used a jutsu to enhance her hearing. Finally, she simply found a screwdriver (they did keep a handy supply of tools) and simply unscrewed the hinges, since she didn't want to have to work off the debts for a door.

The door fell to the ground with a clatter, and Hinata glanced around the room. It was in complete disarray—clothes and papers were strewn everywhere. To Hinata's chagrin, some of these included jutsu scrolls—and as someone who had been deprived of such materials in her younger years, these things were quite important to her.

She stood in the middle of the room, and quickly turned on the Byakugan to check for Uzuki. There was no tenketsu in that room, so Hinata quickly shut it off. The use of the Byakugan wasn't helping the pain in her shoulder, which brought her back to thoughts of retribution.

"Uzuki's not there, is she?" Tsunade asked with a frown from the doorway.

"No… She, ah, seems to have disappeared…" Hinata explained with a small sigh. She didn't enjoy her teacher being gone—while she could take her training into her own hands from informational scrolls and books, plus usual drills and exercises, she wouldn't know when to change her styles or what she was doing wrong—things Uzuki could easily point out for her.

"I see… Go look in town for her. You have permission," Tsunade said with a small wave. Usually, you had to get permission from Tsunade to go into town up until a certain age—but of course, that rule was often broken, and usually Tsunade didn't really mind.

"Hai," she replied with a small nod, before jumping out of the first story window. Might as well take the shortcut out of the mansion, after all.

----

Hinata checked around the town quickly for people, and even performed a small jutsu to check for chakra signatures of ANBU members. Once she was sure she could not see anybody for nearly a mile, she closed her eyes and turned the Byakugan on. She would have to act fast if she was to use it, because the pain from using the Byakugan was intense now, and it often made her Curse Seal extremely sore. This was the usual reaction, and coupled with the fact she had used it only minutes ago, it probably wasn't a good idea. But Hinata knew the quickest way to find someone was to use her bloodline limit.

She glanced around, ignoring the pain that was in her neck. She couldn't see her within a radius of one and a half miles—and she would have looked further, but her Curse Seal protested such things. Once she turned off the Byakugan, she fell to the ground, clutching her neck in pain. Her knees were digging painfully into the ground, and she could already feel the fabric scarping hard against her skin. But that slight stinging was nothing at all in comparison to the pain in her neck.

The world around her was slowly going darker and darker—she was about to pass out. She nearly gave into it, but almost as soon as she considered it, she felt someone grab her from behind and lift her upwards.

"I got you," a gentle voice muttered roughly into her ear as she fell backwards. The voice was familiar, and definitely male, but Hinata wasn't conscious enough to recognize it, or really care who it was. She was just barely awake due to the person, who had kept her alert enough to keep her from blacking out. The person had lifted her to her feet after grabbing her underneath her underarms, and Hinata was steadying herself by holding onto his bright orange jacket…

Wait? Bright orange? That meant it could only be Naruto. Hinata blushed deeply as a reaction and her head hit his chest, Hinata burying her face into his chest to hide the deep blush.

"Are you okay?" he asked, placing a hand on her forehead. He had mistaken her blush for a fever. "You feel kind of warm… And you are about to pass out… You need to take better care of yourself! Here, I'll help you get back to the Buds…"

"No… I need to find Uzuki-sensei…" Hinata mumbled, barely coherent, as her voice was muffled against Naruto's chest.

"I see… Well, I'll help you, then," Naruto said firmly, steadying Hinata onto her own feet.

"You don't need to… The final exam is in only two days…" Hinata explained.

Naruto sighed. "Yeah, well, Ero-sennin has disappeared… He said that I'm done with all the training, and I might as well just get basic taijutsu practice in," Naruto muttered in annoyance. "Probably to 'gather information'."

"Ero-sennin?" Hinata asked, confused. Mostly due to Naruto, her head had cleared, although her neck was still sore. And by now, Uzuki could very well be in the area she checked. Basically, it was all for nothing.

"Oh, Jiraiya," Naruto explained. "So, anyways, are we going or not?" he asked with a wry grin on his face. Hinata nodded firmly and they both began their search for Uzuki.

----

"Did someone die?" Naruto asked concernedly as Hinata approached the cemetery.

"Not that I know of… This is just one of the last few places we have yet to check." Hinata glanced around the graveyard—she could hear a soft sobbing, but couldn't determine which direction it was coming from.

"This way," Naruto pointed forward, his ears being better than Hinata's (though Hinata's eyes where ten times better than his own). They walked past dozens of tombstones, finally coming across Uzuki, who was crying in front of a tombstone. Hinata rushed forward, while Naruto lingered behind. He really shouldn't interfere, but his curiosity was overcoming his thoughts.

"Uzuki-sensei!" Hinata cried out, falling to her knees beside her teacher and wrapping her arms around her. "Who…?"

"It… It's the grave of the man… I wanted to introduce you to…" Uzuki elaborated, wiping away the tears that had caked onto her face.

"Gekko… Hayate…" she muttered, reading the name off of the tombstone. "Isn't that…?" her unasked question hung in the air.

"Yeah… The Chuunin Exam referee. Well, um, right after the Second Chuunin Exam, we hit it off… And we ended up going out… And then, just a little while ago, I told him the truth. He didn't care, and he wanted to meet you. And… He was murdered by a Sound nin," Uzuki explained briefly, her breathing shaky.

"Ano… We voted on what to do, and it turns out we're supposed to be helping the Sand…" Hinata muttered.

"And the Sand is in cahoots with the Sound. No thanks," Uzuki muttered dryly, standing up to her feet. Her teeth were gritted, and she turned behind her, to where Naruto was standing. "What are _you_ still doing here?" she spat out.

"Uzuki-sensei! He, ano, he helped me find you!" Hinata explained, trying desperately to keep Uzuki from trying to murder Naruto.

"Ch, he's the one you are supposed to fight in the Third exam…"

"Ano…" Naruto spoke out, shocking Uzuki and Hinata to the point where they stopped arguing. "What do you mean, you 'voted on what to do, and it turns out you're helping the Sand'? Aren't they supposed to be your allies?"

"… Hinata! We're leaving!" Uzuki commanded, grabbing Hinata roughly by the wrist. "And I don't want you talking to that boy again," she growled, before dragging Hinata out of the cemetery.

"Hinata!" Naruto called after Hinata, who was being dragged like a rag doll.

"Ano, it's okay! Don't… don't worry about me!" Hinata called back, still allowing Uzuki to drag herself behind her.

----

"See what you did? Naruto could have figured things out by now!" Uzuki had been yelling at Hinata for the past thirty minutes or so, and Hinata was simply taking it. She continued yelling about the same things, and Hinata never dared trying to stop her. Tsunade even allowed it to continue, until she finally decided that enough was enough.

"Uzuki! Get your temper under control!" Tsunade commanded loudly, Uzuki and Hinata both freezing at the sudden (scary) outburst.

"Right…" Uzuki grumbled, pushing past Tsunade roughly. Hinata glanced at Tsunade, who seem deeply disturbed, and at Shizune, who seemed worried.

"Hinata, get some rest. The day after tomorrow is going to be the Chuunin Exams, so you need to rest all day tomorrow so you are in top shape for the Chuunin exam," Tsunade advised, using giving the advice as a way of excusing herself.

"Right… Goodnight," Hinata muttered, making her way to her room.

----

Hinata tied her now long hair back in a high ponytail, preparing herself for the exam. She and Naruto would be the third battle, and she wasn't exactly looking forward to it. She'd be fighting the guy she had a crush on—she certainly couldn't go easy on him, but she doubted she'd be able to go especially hard on him, either. And Naruto knew more about her than most of the other kunoichi cared for him to know—he knew of her real name, and her real hometown. Whether or not he knew her last name, Hinata didn't know or couldn't remember—but if he knew her last name, then he knew about her bloodline limit as well.

Hinata was wearing loose fitting clothes, in order to be able to bend and flex in ways that someone wearing skin-tight clothing could not. She was prepared, and she had learned all she had time to learn in the course of the month. She had, for instance, been strengthening her fire jutsu, for apparently, that was slowly becoming one of her greater strengths. As Naruto had jokingly said to her, she was becoming like a kinder, female version of Sasuke Uchiha—and once again, Hinata was worried that he knew about her Byakugan.

"Hinata! We're leaving!" Tsunade called, knocking loudly on Hinata's door.

"Uh, hai!" Hinata called back. She was nervous, and every single Buds member was going to be watching her fight—and, also, she had no clue when the ambush would take place. But, also, another thing that vastly worried her was that she didn't know what would happen _after_ the ambush. She knew that the ones who voted neutral would probably fight for Suna, anyways, and it was quite possible that only Uzuki, Anko, and herself would be fighting for Konoha. And, if she was caught by an ANBU member, or something of the like, she probably would be unable to escape from wherever they put her or whatever they would do to her.

She had a sinking feeling that it was almost the end of the Buds. She had a bad feeling that soon, the kunoichi would have to move to Suna—but she, herself, because she would refuse to work with Suna, would not be allowed to go. And, also, Uzuki's temper and sorrow for her now deceased boyfriend wasn't assuring Hinata that she'd fight to the best of her abilities—it was quite likely she'd be captured (or worse) during the fight. Anko probably would be neither captured nor killed, and in fact, would probably have the least amount of injuries in the entire Buds association—aside from perhaps Tsunade, who could regenerate.

Hinata had spent hours contemplating and analyzing the situation. She had concentrated on what to do, and even after thinking so much about it, she realized she really still had no clue on how exactly she was to handle her predicament—except that she'd do her best to fight for Konoha without being discovered, and that she'd rather die than be captured.

The time had come to leave, and with not even half a plan, Hinata bravely followed her sensei into the carriage, filled with the rest of the Buds members.


	16. Chapter 16

**In A Time When Kunoichi Didn't Exist**

Hinata stood nervously next to the others. She glanced at them, gauging their emotions wordlessly. Naruto seemed excited, though he was giving her worried glances; Kankuro and Temari had the same confident and haughty look about them; Shikamaru looked as if he really didn't want to be there; but the most scary look was the one Gaara was giving everyone. He almost… no, wait, it was definite—he _wanted_ to be there, he wanted to _hurt_ them **all**. Badly. Possibly kill, in fact. But, if Hinata wasn't mistaken, one person was missing…

"Dosu will not be participating," the man in front of them said, chewing on his senbon wordlessly as he surveyed what was most certainly the youngest group of potential Chuunin in… forever. "And it seems that the Uchiha is forfeiting, as well…" He muttered with a sigh. Just at the moment that those words issued from his mouth, a man came up to him and whispered in his ear.

The man nodded and dismissed the messenger. "Okay, we'll wait for the Uchiha brat, since so many people came to see him," his tone was almost sarcastic, as if, even though he didn't know Sasuke, he already annoyed him. "And, since his fight was first, it now gets bumped to the last in the first round. Shikamaru, Temari—you two are up first. Oh—and, not that it really particularly matters at this point, but I'm Genma. I hope you all survive," he introduced himself and walked off, before turning to address the crowd.

"The first fight will be Shikamaru Nara against Temari of the Sand!" he called, and the crowd booed. Shikamaru sighed, and Hinata felt almost as if she could read his thoughts—it was screaming the word 'troublesome', with undertones of 'it's not like they really want to see a two-bit ninja compared to Sasuke' and 'why do I have to fight a girl?'

The other Genin walked to the set-aside area and most of them leaned against the railing, watching intently to see how the fight would go. Naruto casually stood beside Hinata, though he didn't utter a word of greeting or acknowledgement at the start of the fight.

Halfway through the fight though, Naruto sighed. "Looks like this fight is based on strategy…" he complained.

"Yeah… Shikamaru is definitely a genius," Hinata commented, watching in awe as Shikamaru set up a trap using only his shirt, a kunai, and the wind gathered from Temari's fan.

"Hey, um, Hina—Naru-chan?" Naruto began, almost calling her by her real name, but catching himself just in time. However, Hinata was still worried someone might have heard—but a glance around the box confirmed that it seemed as if no one, in fact, had heard his slip-up.

"Hai, Naruto-kun?" she replied after she finished checking everyone.

"We can still be friends after the fight, right?" Naruto asked nervously.

Hinata smiled softly and nodded firmly. It really was cute that he'd ask such a question, after all.

The fight finished a few minutes later, Temari emerging as the winner due to Shikamaru forfeiting, though really, if he had wanted, he could have probably come up with a way to finish her off quickly.

"Naru of the Sand against Naruto Uzumaki," Genma called out, and Naruto exchanged looks with Hinata.

"Good luck," Hinata said gently, and Naruto repeated the same. Naruto held out his hand for her to shake, unsure of what really that sort of situation called for, and Hinata took it before pulling him into a quick, haphazard hug.

----

They stood across from each other, staring intently into each other's eyes, as if willing the other to speak, or even simply move. Genma signaled for them to start, and without a second thought, Naruto immediately formed the seal for the Kage Bunshin.

Soon, many Narutos surrounded Hinata. They were all lined up along the wall, while one was still in Naruto's original place. The Naruto in the original place signaled for the other Narutos to run forward and attack Hinata at once.

Hinata quickly formed the seals for a small fireball jutsu, spurting out the fireballs as she turned over and over again in circles, turning in more than one circle to ensure that she had destroyed all of them. Soon, Hinata was standing alone in the arena, the one she thought to be the original Naruto gone as well.

'_A distraction…?'_ she thought to herself before a rumbling was heard beneath her. Hinata jumped to the side automatically, Naruto erupting from the ground below her, carrying a kunai in each hand. Hinata whipped out a kunai as well, for that was all she could take out so quickly, and blocked the barrage of attacks Naruto was throwing with the one kunai.

A few minutes of hand-to-hand, close combat made Hinata realize very quickly that there was no possible way she could win the fight with just a kunai. She formed a few left-handed seals, using her right hand to hold the kunai and block Naruto's attack.

"Hinata—these seals are meant to only be used with one hand," Uzuki began, handing Hinata a new scroll.

"_One hand?" Hinata parroted, somewhat surprised._

"_Yes. One hand. They are no where near as strong as two-handed seals, but it should at least get you into a position to use two-handed seals and win," Uzuki continued. "Now, what this first one does is conjures a very small burst of flame, and it can only be used by people with very precise chakra control. Even then, it is very difficult to learn…"_

Hinata opened up her palm, and the thinnest line of fire flew from it, burning her skin, but managing to catch Naruto's jacket on fire. He dropped his kunai in shock, and began fanning at the flames.

If it had been a real fight, one she was willing to kill for, Hinata could have easily lunged forward at that moment and slit her opponent's throat. It would have been a simple task, really—lunge, slash; mission completed.

But, of course, that wouldn't be right. Hinata began forming seals for a caging jutsu, and just barely had completed the seals when Naruto had finally quenched the fire. He quickly formed the seals for the Kage Bunshin, much faster than Hinata could finish the seal for the caging jutsu, and all Hinata ended up catching was a Bunshin. She released it immediately, grabbing a kunai from the ground that Naruto had previously discarded.

She used the kunai and stabbed a nearby Bunshin, knowing that Naruto wouldn't place himself so far in front in the first wave of attacks. She used the kunai to defend herself, twisting this way and that to successfully stab the oncoming Bunshin.

'_Seems as if the drills Uzuki has me do have been paying off…'_ Hinata mused to herself as she continued to twist and whirl. Though, even with how fast she was going, it was simply impossible for her at her current level of taijutsu. She was soon overcrowded.

As the Bunshin began piling on top of her, Hinata quickly formed a few seals. She twisted around, the Bunshin having covered her back and legs entirely, the weight too much for her to push off. She blew out a large gush of fire, burning the Bunshin and making the ones in that direction disappear with a poof. This took away three-quarters of all the Bunshin.

She flipped back onto her feet and sprung backwards. Naruto was in that group of Bunshin—somewhere. In order to win, she wouldn't have to kill him, but she would have to injure him quite badly.

Naruto noticed that she was about to use another fire jutsu, and noticed how long it took her to form the seals. He instructed all of his Bunshin to take out their kunai, as many as they could hold, and fling them at Hinata. While they did this, Naruto crawled behind the crowd of Bunshin, far enough away to be out of reach of the fire. Just as Hinata finished the last of the seals, the Bunshin threw their kunai at her.

The flames were only alive long enough to just barely kill the Kage Bunshin and heat up the kunai that were flying towards her. Hinata jumped backwards, though not very fast, and she managed to fall down on her backside. Naruto stopped, freezing, and watched her.

She was having trouble getting up, and she was obviously under chakra exhaustion. She looked dizzy, as if she was about to pass out.

"Naru, I'm not going to do this anymore. Give up. You can't win… You have a limited supply of chakra. I don't," Naruto muttered gently.

"Iie, Naruto-kun. I'm not giving up. You'd… you'd have to finish me off," Hinata replied.

"Shut up! Just give up!" Naruto commanded.

Hinata ignored his comments and calmly began forming jutsu seals. Naruto recognized it as a fire jutsu, and got out of the way. Hinata turned towards him and shot flames at him, just barely singing the blonde boy.

Hinata fell to the ground from chakra exhaustion, all her energy having been spent. Naruto lunged forward, a few burns apparent, and caught her before she landed on the ground. Genma gave them a 'what's between them?' kind of look before declaring the winner to be Naruto.

"Can I wait in her room before my fight?" Naruto asked the medic nin. The medic nin seemed taken aback for a moment, but he nodded, as all Hinata really needed was rest.

----

Hinata slept for nearly two hours—and, surprisingly, the first round was almost finished with its last fight. Hinata slowly awakened, shocked to see Naruto sitting beside her, simply staring at her, looking… angry.

"Hello, Naruto-kun," she muttered weakly.

He managed a smile. "Hello, Hina-chan," he said gently. Hinata blushed at the nickname—had he just come up with that?

"Have… have you just been sitting here the entire time?" Hinata asked weakly.

"Yeah… Oh, the medic nin said to have you take this," Naruto suddenly jumped up, picking up a few pills and a glass of water. Hinata sat up and nodded, accepting the pills with a soft thanks and popping the pills into her mouth before downing the entire glass of water.

A sudden _BOOM_ was heard from outside. Hinata bolted and looked at Naruto, the pills having already restored her strength. Her eyes were filled with desperation, shock, and realization.

"Naruto-kun! Suna is attacking!" she cried out, and Naruto sat there, gaping at her.

"… Are you coming with me, or going with them?" he asked her as he stood up.

"I'm with Konoha," she said firmly, allowing Naruto to pull her out of the hospital bed. Naruto smirked at her happily, before wordlessly dashing out of the room.

Almost as soon as they threw the door open, Uzuki was there, blocking any attacks that happened to fly her way. "So, he knows?" Uzuki asked after a short length of time. Hinata nodded.

"Try not to have to fight any of your old friends, Hinata. And you, Naruto-brat… Protect her with your life, you got that?" Uzuki asked firmly. Without even giving him time to answer, Uzuki ran off, obviously tackling mainly Sound nin.

"Let's go," Naruto said with a firm nod. Hinata and Naruto ran forward, fighting off the Sound and Sand nin, protecting their village—together.

**A/N: Sorry for the chapter getting out so late--my internet has been screwy. I'm even sorrier for the corny last line.**


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